Curmudgeon Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 Hello all, I would like to get some recommendations on superior sounding tubes to use in the phono section of my McIntosh C2200 preamp. The built-in moving-magnet phono stage uses two 12AX7As and two 12AT7As, the OEM's are Chinese made Svetlana's and rather mediocre from what I understand. The phono section's current sound is OK but nothing special so I was thinking that upgrading the tubes might kick it up a notch (and be cheaper than buying another phono stage). For a comparison my Aragon 47k phono stage outperforms the C2200's, the Aragon is SS and not true high-end. Has anyone here swapped out tubes on a C2200? I have seen recommendations for RCA blackplates, Mullards, Telefunkens, etc. but I really don't know diddly about tubes themselves and the various qualities different brands exhibit. I don't mind spending the money for good tubes but I would rather avoid having to buy a bunch of different brands to experiment. One of the reasons I went with Mcintosh tube components was to keep it simple - high reliability and no biasing, etc. Plus, I have no way of testing tubes here (gone are the days when most drug stores had tube testing machines in them) so I would also be in need of a reliable source to buy them, such as another forum member or reliable web site. If the phono tube swap works well I'll do the main preamp tubes also. I'm putting together a 2nd Linn LP12 deck to utilize the C2200's phono section, my VPI Scout has a Clearaudio Sigma on it so the Aragon 47k is configured for MC use. Any recommendations would be most appreciated, I know a lot of you out there (Kelly, Allan Songer, Erik Mandaville, etc.) have extensive personal experience with tubes whereas my only knowledge of them is from reading on this forum and the web. In other words I can spell tube and use it in a sentence but that's about it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions! by the way, I generally listen to rock, blues, older jazz, and a bit of classical if that info will help. My current tube setup is as follows: McIntosh C2200 pre (all OEM tubes) McIntosh MC-275 Gow Commemorative amp (all OEM tubes) 1979 Klipschorns KC-BR (unmodded) Preamp/amplifier via balanced cables Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 Greetings: You have mail. Win dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curmudgeon Posted September 12, 2003 Author Share Posted September 12, 2003 Win, Thanks for the great info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.