Driver Tubes 6922

@tonydennison Kentucky Radio made some excellent tubes.  I had ‘50’s 12ax7 blackplates.  They sound excellent but harder to fine and can be pricey.  I prefer the RCA over them.  Ken Rad made some pewter plates in the 50’s that are even better but I never had any. Ken Rad was bought by GE so GE 12ax7 grayplates from early 60’s are really nice and an exceptional value if cost is a concern.

The order of best impact for me would be the order you listed but all are important.  Cheers!

@tonydennison just curious where are you buying your tubes from? 

@tonydennison one more suggestion that may or may not work out.   I have had excellent results using 12at7 and 5751 tubes in place of 12ax7’s.  They are identical except the gain is lower than the AX’s. (You can go down on gain with these tube types but not up) I have used them on a DAC pre, phono stage and can’t tell a difference and they sound great. Not sure if your mono’s need the extra gain or not. 12AX7’s are becoming much pricier and harder to find now.

@tksteingraber I ordered them from Brent Jessee

Excellent trusted resource to buy tubes.  Cost a little more but you get what you pay for!