Author Topic: New Tubes  (Read 2579 times)

Offline ejk

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New Tubes
« on: December 21, 2016, 01:40:59 PM »
I just bought a pair of backup tubes for my amp. I'm listening to them to make sure they are good, and they are. I thought my existing tubes were good but now I'm hearing more than I heard with my existing pair. More texture, bass and imaging. They are the same brand so nothing different there.


What do you guys who listen to tubes hear when you put in a new pair of the same type ?
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Offline rpf

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Re: New Tubes
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2016, 01:35:46 PM »
More resolution, more fullness; probably more everything.
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Offline sleepyguy24

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Re: New Tubes
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2016, 11:29:44 AM »
I dug through my notes of when I went tube rolling mad with my Jolida JD-502P. I kept the 12AX7 and 12AT7 tubes the same and rolled in various KT88s and 6550 tubes.

Here were my findings based on my system.

JJ Blue Glass KT88s. Bass was a bit too boomy and mids were ok.

Penta Labs KT88 solid plate that were dark grey. Not the version with 3 holes in the plate. Entire sound spectrum just sounded warm. Mids and highs not as detailed as I would have liked. Bass wasn't boomy or that tight.

GE 6550 NOS cryo treated tubes. My favorite. Just enough punch in the bass with no fatiguing mids and highs. I was extremely bummed when 1 of the tubes just died

Wish I had the chance to have auditioned the Gold Lion KT88 tube. I heard these were the bee knees of the KT88 reissues.

These were just my findings. I don't think I'm ever tube rolling again with power tubes. After awhile I was just playing the same tracks over and over trying to pick up differences. The break-in time was a pain in the arse. Music listening became a chore for a bit. If I ever get a new tube amp again I'll do my best to just stick with one set and enjoy.