Ta ta ta...Almost a month after my initial Newbie Tube Rolling posting here, here is the verdict of my 1st experiment:
I've decided to use the JJ 12AX7's for the input stage, and keep the stock (Chinese Golden Dragon?!?) EL34 tubes for the power amp.
As I mentioned from my earlier posting here, I've got myself a set of Electro Harmonix (EH) 12AX7 and EL34. The switch made my system a lot darker and for some reason, the soundstage also closed in a bit and moved to the back. Bass bot extension, but boomy, and overall presentation got dull. As you can see from my gear, they are already leaning more toward the warmer side of things and adding the EH's just makes the system a little too warm and dark for my taste.
Matching the JJ's and the stock EL34's brought everything back: clearer and more refined detail without the brightness, the wider and mid-to-frong soundstage, lush mid-range, and overall balanced presentation. Only thing that could be improved would be the bass department. It's tight, but doesn't have great extension.
Problem solved as I tried my 1st after market power cord. I was pretty skeptical in the beginning, but boy, it really opened up (even more) the soundstage, give (even more) clarity to the overall presentation, and more importantly, a quick and tight bass.
Now that I seem to have found what I've been looking for, but still curious about the great things that I've read on both Svetlana and JJ Tesla EL34's. Anyone has experience with these two sets?
I've decided to use the JJ 12AX7's for the input stage, and keep the stock (Chinese Golden Dragon?!?) EL34 tubes for the power amp.
As I mentioned from my earlier posting here, I've got myself a set of Electro Harmonix (EH) 12AX7 and EL34. The switch made my system a lot darker and for some reason, the soundstage also closed in a bit and moved to the back. Bass bot extension, but boomy, and overall presentation got dull. As you can see from my gear, they are already leaning more toward the warmer side of things and adding the EH's just makes the system a little too warm and dark for my taste.
Matching the JJ's and the stock EL34's brought everything back: clearer and more refined detail without the brightness, the wider and mid-to-frong soundstage, lush mid-range, and overall balanced presentation. Only thing that could be improved would be the bass department. It's tight, but doesn't have great extension.
Problem solved as I tried my 1st after market power cord. I was pretty skeptical in the beginning, but boy, it really opened up (even more) the soundstage, give (even more) clarity to the overall presentation, and more importantly, a quick and tight bass.
Now that I seem to have found what I've been looking for, but still curious about the great things that I've read on both Svetlana and JJ Tesla EL34's. Anyone has experience with these two sets?