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Opinions On New Production Tubes....


SWL

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Been using NOS Mullard 12AX7 long plates in the preamp section of my HH Scott 222c for a few years now.
 
A week ago I bought some new production Mullard 12AX7 long plates as well as a pair of some Genelex Gold Lion 12AX7's.
 
These tubes sound really nice. What is the lifespan of these newer tubes? Are they as robust as the older ones?
 
Thanks for any input.
 
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I've had bad luck with most new production tubes that were not shuguang/psvane... namely those touting the vintage monikers.

 

I don't think they sound very good when doing a critical listening back to back scenario... the Chinese units do. 

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Comparing the new production 12AX7 Mullards and the Genelex Gold Lions I noticed right off the batt that they had slightly lower gain than the NOS Mullard 12AX7 long plates I've been using.

That was two days ago. As time went on into the weekend, I've been strictly running the Gold Lions. This morning it became more evident that the volume knob had to be turned up to 12:00 vs 10:00 where I normally listen with the NOS tubes.

Is this normal.....normal burn in results for new production tubes? After confirming the difference in gain with the NOS tubes back in the amp, I put the new production Mullard tubes back in. Not much less gain than the NOS Mullards but these new Mullards only have a few hours on them so far. It wasn't until the Gold Lion's had about 15 hours or so run through them that the gain dropped substantially.

I thought that was odd and am wondering if something is wrong with those Gold Lion tubes. They sound good but the low gain just doesn't seem right.

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Thanks Kalifornian. Yeah, I was checking out that link before I posted. The new production tubes I got have a really nice sound but that low gain is no match for what I'm hearing now since I put my NOS 12AX7's back in. The sound is bigger and much more lively.

Part of the reason they're working better is that I use the center channel output of my 222c for a sub. Integration works much better with the higher gain tubes......but overall, the higher gain NOS 12AX7's have more to offer in general.

I'll be receiving some new production Sovtek 12AX7's this week. I'll check them out next weekend hopefully and see how they compare to the new production Mullards and Genelex Gold Lions I just got.

In the meantime, the best tubes I've rolled recently were the acoustic treatments I overhauled in my listening room. Wanna improve your sound? That's where it's at.

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I've had bad luck with most new production tubes that were not shuguang/psvane... namely those touting the vintage monikers.

 

I don't think they sound very good when doing a critical listening back to back scenario... the Chinese units do. 

Just ordered some Psvane 12AX7's. Those suckers were not cheap.

 

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New Sovtek EL84M are great. Should last 5,000 hours, smooth, sweet tube sound, great build quality.
 
 


I have those in my amp right now. In addition to the 7189 Preferred Tube, they have been my 'go to' power tubes.[emoji106]



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On 10/27/2018 at 5:35 PM, SWL said:


What is the lifespan of these newer tubes? Are they as robust as the older ones?
 

 

 
 

 

I can't comment on new production tubes as I don't use them.  However, a very important factor which affects even the most robust of NOS tubes is excessive filament voltage.  I strongly recommend that you measure the latter.  Depending on your line voltage you may find out that 6.3V tubes are receiving as much as 7V (or more) which exceeds the usual 10% overvoltage margin.  If the voltage is found to be too high, a variac can be used to get voltages back into a more normal range.  Vintage equipment was often claimed to work fine at a line voltage of 105 to 125.  But remember that back in the day tubes were cheap and manufacturers didn't care much if they had to be replaced on a more frequent basis. 

 

Maynard

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I forget if it was the JJ or the Sovtek 12ax7 that always failed in my tester but worked fine.  The tester was a Sencore Mighty Mite which basically just tells you "good" or "bad" and tests for shorts.  All I really care about is if there are shorts.  

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I've had bad luck with most new production tubes that were not shuguang/psvane... namely those touting the vintage monikers.

 

I don't think they sound very good when doing a critical listening back to back scenario... the Chinese units do. 

Hey Schu....these are the tubes I ordered. Should get them in a couple weeks. By any chance are these the ones you have/tried? 8913955b84e28d8bcba8f63fefe10d24.jpg

 

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I use those, yes.

Ive tried pretty much the entire psvane and shuguang line for the tube types I use... 12at7, 12au7, 12ax7, cv181, kt88, kt66, kt120... and a few others. the entry level stuff is pretty bad, but the natures and treasures are pretty darn good. I think they are a value because to get better, imho, you need to go to REALLY expensive NOS.

I use an all chinese tube set on my vrd's right now (even though I do have vintages, but I am saving them) and I use vintage NOS on my NBS.

 

30253311548_cd8c21cae7_k.jpg

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This morning I just tried out another set of new production tubes.....Sovtek 12AX7's. They sounded nice but not as good as my NOS Mullard long plates.

 

They had the same thing in common as the new production Mullard and Genelex 12AX7's I just tried recently. One tube is quieter/louder than the other. They are not exactly the same. I didn't give these Sovteks enough time but the other new production tubes lost gain over a 12 hour period and I'm not gonna waste my time with these Sovteks.

 

Can't wait to try out these Psvane Treasure tubes. Good reviews and the price tag was very close to what I paid for my NOS Mullard long plates and Telefunken smooth plates from Brent Jesse about 7-8 years ago.

 

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I use those, yes.
Ive tried pretty much the entire psvane and shuguang line for the tube types I use... 12at7, 12au7, 12ax7, cv181, kt88, kt66, kt120... and a few others. the entry level stuff is pretty bad, but the natures and treasures are pretty darn good. I think they are a value because to get better, imho, you need to go to REALLY expensive NOS.
I use an all chinese tube set on my vrd's right now (even though I do have vintages, but I am saving them) and I use vintage NOS on my NBS.
 
30253311548_cd8c21cae7_k.jpg
One thing that caught my eye in the description of these Treasure tubes was that they say that they are high gain tubes and that they will take some of the stress off of the power tubes. I've posted recently on the cheap new production 12AX7 tubes I've been trying (Mullard, Genelex, Sovtek) and one thing I've noticed among other things is that besides those tubes having much less gain/output, the amp runs slightly warmer. I've been keeping a close eye/ear on this since the redplating episode I had and I gotta say.....the amp runs considerably cooler (and sounds better) with the NOS Mullard 12AX7's.

Can't wait to try out the Psvane/Treasure super tubes. Should be fun.

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