Phono preamp tube rolling.

By the chance, did anybody tried Japanese stuff? ….Hitachi 12AX7, NEC 12AU7, Toshiba 12AX7 or Matsushita 12AX7 ?

Rolling some 12AX7 tubes in my Sun Valley phono pre. I found the Genalex Russian tubes to be way too bright and glaring. Brent Jesse turn to be on to some RCA vintage gray plates and those were pretty perfect. My music is mostly rock and roll. Jazz and classical folks might go with something a bit more nimble and musical like Siemens or Telefunken. 

Lewm is right, tube rolling will drive you crazy. The most important characteristic for a phono preamp is low noise. Both RAM Labs and Upscale Audio test their tubes. It is better to spend more on the super low noise tubes or Kevin's stash which are also superior in other parameters. Tubes are quite variable in these regards. With tube testing you know what you are getting. It's a good investment as preamp tubes can last a very long time. I change my phono stage tubes every 5 years whether they need it or not and my unit stays lit 24/7 (when I have a turntable:-(

Tom, What is “pyseabo”? Is it another word for “placebo”? Or did autocorrect do damage to your intentions?

to the OP: I try to use high quality tubes. Once or twice I’ve paid extra to RAM or Kevin for matched or low noise tubes. However tubes age at different rates, so what are matched or low noise tubes today might not be so in a month or 6 months. Still it’s hard to argue not to start with low noise for the input and any other gain tubes in a phono stage. Beware that boutique or NOS vintage tubes sold these days are very likely to be fakes. I have some Telefunken and Amperex tubes that I bought in the late 70s; I believe they’re real but I have no gear that requires a 12AX7 or AU7. I don’t “roll” tubes with any expectation that SQ will improve because of the brand or provenance. I replace tubes that I suspect are near the end of their lifespan.I own a good tube tester, but the real way to test a tube is to measure how it is functioning in the equipment. To do that you need a knowledge of electronics and how to read a schematic.

@lewm 

NOS vintage tubes sold these days are very likely to be fakes

Fakes, you mean like really fakes, made faked under popular brands and models or just low quality NOS described as something very special?
Yes, testers gives you basic useful info, but of course not guaranteed that equipment won’t change tube function right after a tube being installed. Common vacuum leak could happen too specially during vintage NOS installation.