NOS Tube Recommendation for Quicksilver Phono Pre Amp
I recently upgraded from the onboard phono stage in my Technics 1500SL to an all tube Quicksilver Phono Pre Amp. I’m about half way through the 30 hour recommended break-in period and so far, there is a lot to like about this piece of gear: Much thicker/more pronounced bottom end (I’ve had to readjust the gain on my subs quite a bit) and much wider/more defined sound stage. However, because I’m also running an all tube integrated amp (Raven Audio Osprey), there is now a very noticeable "warm" coloration to the music that wasn’t there before. I don’t want to give up on my new phono stage, but it’s like I’m listening to music with a wool blanket over my speakers. I’m thinking rolling the tubes to something a little cleaner/brighter could give me the best of all worlds. There are 3 tubes in the circuit topology: 2 12AX7s (one input, one gain) and 1 12AT7 (cathode follower). I’m currently considering a matched pair of Raytheon JRP black plate 12AX7s and either an RCA or Telefunken for the cathode follower (all NOS). Any and all suggestions/inputs are very much appreciated! P.S. my speakers are Raven Audio Corvus Reference Monitors and my current cart is the always amazing Nagaoka MP-500.
Thanks for the reply @larryi , yes - the loading on both the Technics onboard phono stage and the QS is 47k ohms (which is what the cart calls for). Unfortunately, neither have the ability to change loading settings. Regarding the telefunkens 12ax7, I’ve noticed there are several different types ranging in price dramatically. Do you have any experience/recommendations on specific type? Are the diamond bottom NOS several hundred dollars better than the standard telefunken 12ax7s? |
New Teles are JJ (Slovakian). Even supposedly vintage Teles could be Chinese fakes. These days, the fakes look pretty authentic—they have the diamond molded into the glass like the real thing. Anything good has fake copies. I’ve seen fake Audio Note speaker wire that you can only tell is fake by peeling back the heat shrink cover at the spade or banana plug. I saw a Western Electric preamp that cost $20k that was totally fake—rusty transformers and all. |
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