2. amps-preamps
  3. 155195-136265

Fav Tube/Best tube

E80CC my all time fav, any brand, all sound nearly identical (pinched waist, getter stuff = snakeoil)
Tungsten, Siemes, Philips = same tube.
some have rhodium pins, ebay seller claims *sought after = superior to brass pins*,,,but these rhodium pins, do not have the copper posts, which i perfer. I will have to roll the E80’s , so far I perfer vavlo by a *hair*, but can not say for sure, as all sound nearly identical, at least to my poor hearing( I failed a hearing test at Valero Refinery some yrs back , but only in testing the highest FQ’s).
Next fav tube
is Tele 12AX7, Siemens are very close,,at least as far as i can tell, have not made a further compare on that as yet.
Next and last is the power drivers.
For that I’ll have to go with the KT150’s, which i’ve not heard, but am sure will love that tube.
When I rolled the 90’s to 88’s, i might have perfered the 88’s ,,,both sound very close,,,,sorry i should have made more shootouts on those 2 , before i sold off the 90’s.
Considering nearly all amps come with stock 88’s, that pretty much confirms the 88’s is the all around best tube for most amps, |
BUt if you have power to spare in your trans, as my Defy does (2 side trans run cold, mid trans runs slightly warm,,and thats running super low super high demanding 87 db speakers!!! Testimony to jadis' trans, built like german tanks, yet sing like ,,,,, Heavenly Angels) the 150’s is the best option as a long term investment.

So thats my 3
1) E80(far superior to the wimpy 12AU7’s, if the e80 did not exist, the 12AU7 is a excellent tube <<<tongue in cheek>>>)
2)Tele12AX7
3),KT150’s.
and yours?
and go ahead and dunk all snakeoil you’ve heard over the years about certain aspects of a tube, such as *Holy Grails*

mozartfan
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,392 posts
 
With power tubes what may sound good in one amp is no guarantee it will sound good in a different amp circuit .
i have been through this for over 40 years . Never Assume.
regarding kt150  tubes a very good tube but,if the transformers are 
not optimized for them you are removing the design overhead 
and under duress msy create distortions, check with the mfg first.
Small tubes for balance pre 1955 Amperex slanted D getter long plates are excellent, Mullard 10 series for a warmer midrange 
and Siemen, or a Tele I am referring to a pair in the $300 range 
there are rare models that are $$ but almost impossible to find .many American tubes were also very good back in the 50s,and before late 60s
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller
1,446 posts
 
In terms of re-issue quality, I think most everything Gold Lion puts out is good to great, with a few superb in there too.

The Tung Sol 7581A is a special tube.

For NOS, I like RCA, Cifte, Telefunken, Mullard and National (too many variants/types to list).

There used to be great value in the military spec tubes. They usually sounded pretty good to great at a reasonable price. Plus, they last forever. But prices on those have risen so much that I will buy reissue over them.
noromance's avatar
noromance
10,198 posts
 
+1 Tung Sol 7581A. The replacement tube for 6L6/EL34.
noromance's avatar
noromance
10,198 posts
 
I’ve tried hundreds of tubes. The best 12AX7 is the Shuguang 12AX7LS black from Grant Fidelity at $149 a pair. 20 hour burn in needed.
mozartfan OP
2,143 posts
 
I havea  quad of chinese preamp tubes, china can not make a  pre tube that comes even close to EU/USA NOS, I woill have to give away that quad on ebay for pennies on the $.

E80CCs knock out Tele Holy Grails 12AU7 in 1st few notes.
12AU7's sound like frogs croking  next to the ~~heavenly choir~~~ E80CC;'s

http://www.r-type.org/exhib/aaa0426.htm

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