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How are Mullards supposed to sound?

System: Rogers Studio 7, Prima Luna Prologue One, Marantz SA-8003

The stock (Chinese?) tubes in my Prima Luna Prologue One finally wore out after two years. The stock tubes sounded really excellent.

I decided to "upgrade." First to Electro-Harmonix tubes, which sounded decent but not as good as the stock tubes, and now to Mullards.

I know that tubes take a little while to "burn-in" but these Mullards sound awful.

They have a hard, clangy, echoing (microphonic) quality that none of the other tubes ever had. The soundstage seems to have receded backwards by a hundred feet. Everything sounds small and far away.

Is this how Mullards sound? I thought they were supposed to sound romantic. Is this all part of the "burn-in" process?
layman
br3098
994 posts
 
Unsound,

LOL
trelja
3,223 posts
 
Attaguy, Unsound! Thank goodness there are ethical sellers like you left in this hobby. It both serves as an example, as well as provides hope for the rest of us.

By the way, Mullard (the real ones - from the past) small signal tubes like 12AU7 and 12AX7 should sound warm, rich, full-bodied, and easy to listen to overall. The EL34 should sound very well balanced from top to bottom, with a combination of great bass, midrange clarity/sunny disposition, and a nice top end. Never biting or glary, but definitely not veiled, muddy, or rich, either. EXCELLENT EL34.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
George Carlin cried for the blue food. I'm crying for the blue font.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,584 posts
 
I suspect that Kevin has dealt with many people who like to get his advice or a demo unit and then buy elsewhere. I'd guess he's gotten very good at detecting these people in a brief conversation. If he's wrong some of the time, that's just the price he pays for not having to spend the whole day on the phone with people who just want to chat. If he passes you off to someone else it's probably someone he thinks is perfectly capable of helping you.

I'm not implying anything about anyone on this thread. You may have had every intention of buying from Upscale.

Running a business is incredibly time consuming, especially a business like high-end audio. I'm sure Kevin could put in 16 hours a day and still have plenty left to do if he didn't keep his attention focused on just the tasks that require his personal attention. Or he may be a terrible guy. I don't know him personally.
br3098
994 posts
 
Tom, I understand and, to some extent, agree with your thoughts. But I too run a business selling very expensive equipment and services. While there are always folks that want to waste your time; you simply cannot make snap judgements, demand preconditions or blow people off like that. That is a sure way to ruin your business.

I won't/don't need to spend any more time about the Kevin issue. I have probably already said too much. This should probably be moved to another conversation lamenting the sad state of high-end audio dealers. I don't want to highjack Layman's thread.
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