2. amps-preamps
  3. 1282804225

I need a lower gain 12au7 for Mastersound

I recently purchased a Mastersound Due Venti. It has 2 JJ ecc82 gold pins in the preamp. I find them to be a little high gain for my tastes. They do sound quite nice though don't get me wrong.

Could anyone recommend a 12au7 or variant that naturally has less gain than the JJ but still retains quite a lot of detail and low noise? New or NOS, doesn't matter to me.

Any responses or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Or if anyone has a Due Venti maybe they could let me know what preamp tubes they prefer?

I'm running it with a pair of La Scala's, they're just a little too efficient maybe...

Thanks for your time!!
ddderek
ddderek OP
9 posts
 
I guess I'm just looking for a smoother tube with a "Perceived" lower gain. I'm using a TT with a cambridge 640p on MM for my input.

I guess I'm just trying lower the gain of the whole amp. Seems to be a hiss running through the speakers, even with the volume off. Cd or TT doesn't matter. Unplugged all accessories, doesn't matter.

Maybe I just shouldn't be trying to run this amp with my La Scala's. Higher volumes sound amazing!! Lower, I get a hiss.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
The 12AU7 is the lowest gain tube in that family of tubes. The problem is not the amp. The problem is between the speaker and the source.
ddderek OP
9 posts
 
What do you mean
Post removed 
ddderek OP
9 posts
 
"A simple solution to the gain issue is to use an attenuator between your CD player and the input of the Mastersound"

Yes thank you. That's not the problem though. I unplug all my accessories. Just the amp and speakers hooked up, thats all, and the hiss is still there.

It doesn't change at all when I turn the volume knob all the way up, no feedback noise(as per the amp specs!) just the same steady low hiss.

I'm just guessing now that it's that the La Scala's are too efficient, even at idle they'll have a small hiss with this amp.

I'm also guessing that swapping tubes isn't gonna change anything from the posts I'm getting here.

Oh, well. It sounds Excellent at higher volumes! I will have to just ignore this one issue that my new amp has introduced to my system.

The zero negative feedback still really blows me away....

Thank.
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