EAT E-Glo Petite Hybrid phono stage

Nice to see some more posts and experimentation here. Following up on my posts from last March - Since then I have rolled several more sets of tubes, from some very expensive Mullards to some uncommon RCA 7058s. I think 7 different sets in total. I kept coming back to the new production Gold Lions. On my system, they just flesh out vocals in a way all the others I've tried cannot. Naturally, curiosity got the best of me and I have a pair of Baldwins out for delivery today. Thanks @hifi59 . What's one more pair added to the collection? :) Will report back later.

Oh and the Petit did end up replacing my McIntosh MP-100. After making those changes, the holography and more natural sound of the Petit won out. By comparison, the MP-100 sounded a bit too lush and recessed. I have no desire to try any other phono stages at this point, though continuing to tinker with the Petit's tubes is sort of the itch I need to scratch.

I should add that with my Soundsmith zephyr 3 cartridge (2.4mv) output, the best setting for the Petit with the 1959 Baldwin tubes are 50db gain and 50 pf and no rings on the tubes,  although 150 pf works if you want a little more zing that doesn’t go overboard. I feel my settings have just the right amount of control without losing soundstage. This will likely be cartridge output dependent.

“I think 7 different sets in total. I kept coming back to the new production Gold Lions.”

I also have the Gold lions. They are very good current production tube as used in the Petit, but don’t quite have that nice tonality of the 59 Baldwins (percussion, guitar body, horns) . High end is less grainy or edgy too with the Baldwins, not that the Gold Lions were that bad in that area. There’s more breathing room (headroom) with the Baldwins.with these tubes in the Petit, it competes very closely to my other phono preamp (Modwright PH9.0x) with excellent 6922 Philips nos tubes. Tonality is actually a little bit better with the Petit/Baldwins vs my Modwright while the soundstage is a bit larger with the Modwright /Philips tubes, but it’s plenty big with the Petit/Baldwin combo.

Ok, here's some quick impressions of the Baldwins. Mine are a NOS matched pair from 1953, so not exactly the same as @hifi59 but very close. I think the only difference is the getter shape - halo instead of D. I listened to them yesterday for a couple hours, and just left the Petit on overnight to burn in for today's session. The first thing that struck me was that these are, hands down, the quietest tubes I've tried in the Petit. I mean, ink black background with the volume cranked with the Petit set at 65 db gain using my Hana MC cart. Sound was crystal clear, vocal texture detail came through nicely, and elements like reverbs really seemed to extend deep, giving me the impression of a more 3 dimensional space. The tone was very balanced, nothing tilted nor lacking. Perhaps the most interesting difference, to me anyway, was that I could push the volume of my tube amplifier much louder with these tubes in the Petit without any hint of harshness. With the other tubes I've tried, I could only go so far before things started to sound a bit harsh. Though I don't normally listen at those loud volumes, it was fun to push my system and it really sounded incredible. So, thanks to @hifi59 for the reco! They are a better match for my system and have officially dethroned the Gold Lions. They were also one of the cheapest sets I've bought. Can't wait to try my other cartridges with these tubes in.

“I mean, ink black background with the volume cranked with the Petit set at 65 db gain using my Hana MC cart. Sound was crystal clear, vocal texture detail came through nicely, and elements like reverbs really seemed to extend deep, giving me the impression of a more 3 dimensional space.”

This is great and I’m not a bit surprised that you are hearing what I hear. It’s what I’ve been saying all along. More holographic and also more headroom. I never mentioned them being quiet, but that was an oversight on my part. They are most definitely quiet. If these are actual NOS, just wait till they hit the 30-60 hour mark! They just get that much better. Listen to texture of percussion instruments, horn tonality and guitar body. Best I’ve heard. I don’t think my 1959 Baldwins had D getters. Pretty sure they’re halos like yours. I’ll have to look again.