EAT E-Glo Petite Hybrid phono stage
I’m using a new Zephyr MIMC Star cart on an Acoustic Solid TT with an Audion 300b Special Edition Integrated amp into Zu Soul Superfly speakers.
Thanks,
Rick
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My wife has the Pro-ject Tube DS2 phono pre. We put at least 7-8 different sets of tubes in it, some current production and some NOS. Of the current production tubes, Mullards from Upscale audio sounded best. But one day. I took a gamble on some Baldwin (RAYTHEON) NOS 1961 12ax7 tubes off of eBay. These things took it to a much higher level! Fantastic. They are amazing. Extremely low grain. Sweet high end and yet detailed. Bass for days! Very good gain. Much better than any other tube I’ve tried and much better than my former Pro-ject Phono Box RS that I compared it to. The RS sounds somewhat mechanical in comparison. I like the tubes so much that I bought a back up pair and have no desire to look any further. The best part is they only cost around $60 a pair. My system audio is professionally calibrated and so I am mainly hearing the differences the tubes themselves contribute to the sound. You just can’t go wrong with these tubes. |
Thanks, @hifi59,So as the tubes in the EAT E-glo Petit are 12ax7 too, what you said does apply to the E-glo Petit too, I guess. I previously owned the Pro-ject Phono Box RS too, and found it very (too?) precise (you even wrote ’mechanical’). That’s why I was looking to the E-glo Petit, which is said to be very musical. CONTEXT Actually, my Phono Box RS is out of order and under warranty. I have an opportunity to upgrade towards either the RS2, or the E-glo Petit (with an additional financial cost, of course). |
@hifi59 - Regarding the Baldwin (RAYTHEON) NOS 1961 12ax7 you found on Ebay, there are a lot of offers, I'm a bit lost. Can you provide a link? (I see this one, at $59) Should not they be matched?@echorec said the E-glo to be "very sensitive to tube noise, so noise-graded tubes are essential" Thanks! |
1. I’m sure the Baldwins would sound at least as good in the EAT Petit. 2. 12ax7 tube matching is not as critical as some suggest. My first choice would be to buy a matched pair though.3.Their are several pairs on eBay. They are from 1959 and 1960. I’m sure they would sound every bit as good as the 1961s. Looks like the word got out about these tubes. Prices a bit higher and less quantity available than what I normally see on eBay. Even at higher prices, they are still well worth it, IMO. I can only speak for the yellow labeled ones. Haven’t heard the green ones. You can always look at actual Raytheon tubes from that era as they are the ones who made the Baldwins. Here’s the link. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=baldwin+12ax7+tub... Some more Baldwins also comes up on a Raytheon search https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=rayrheon+12ax7+tu... |
So, I found a great deal on the Eat Petit and as good as my DS2 sounds with the Baldwin 1960 tubes, I sold it. The Petit with the stock tubes is very good. A little less grain and a slightly larger soundstage than the ds2, but it just didn’t have the rich tonality of the ds2 with the Baldwin 1960 tubes that became so addictive. So, I put those tubes in the Petit and it was better, but didn’t sound quite the same as they did in the ds2. Too much body and that clouded the lower midrange area a bit. Tonality was still excellent though and almost as good as they sounded like in the ds2. I had a pair of 1959 Baldwins that were not quite as good when I had tried them in the ds2. A little too much upper midrange drive. So, I decided to try them in the Petit. WOW! Perfection! These tubes were made for this phono pre. Outstanding tonality that even my $4k phono preamp using a variety of nos tubes couldn’t match. It’s like the 1960 Baldwins were sounding when used in the ds2, but only with a bit less grain, larger soundstage, less congestion and a bit smoother sounding overall. Along with the tonality, the Petit and the 1959 tubes still have excellent dynamics, soundstage and bite. Deep and powerful bass and a sweet top end that is fully extended. I then tried some nos Ei tubes than are said to be identical looking and sounding as NOS Telefunken smooth plates.They sounded great too, but just didn’t have that rich tonality of the 1959 Baldwins. No wow factor, but nothing to complain about either. Also tried 4 different current production tubes, to include Gold Lions. Gold lions were best of the lot but couldn’t hold a candle to the Baldwins. If you really want to experience what the Petit is capable of, do yourself a favor and grab a pair of the 1959 Baldwins. You can find these on eBay for around $100 a pair or so. So worth it! *Note..my system audio is professionally calibrated and is very neutral, thus letting the tubes do most of the talking without much influence from improper eq and bright/warm speakers. |
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