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Tube question


fanbrain

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I just got a Jolida 302b integrated tube amp. I love the sound so far but I'm new to tubes and have a question or two.


1. Are 12AT7 (E.H.) tubes supposed to glow. Mine aren't and I'm concerned.

2. It appears that all tubes are stock- i'm interested in rolling some Svetlana "Winged C" EL34's to improve sound, but should I also replace the (2) 12AX7's and (2) 12AT7's? If so, what should i replace them with?

I listen to classical, mostly piano music, jazz, some rock (Led Zeppelin) and organ music. I am most interested in tightening the bass response for jazz and organ. Thanks for the help.

I also run Magnepan SMGa's and sometimes Klipsch KSF 10.5's (with Paradigm Studio 20 v.4's arriving soon). Moderate to loud levels.
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On some pre-amp tubes, it is hard to see the glow.

The Svetlana Winged "c" are a good choice. If you ever decide to try some KT-77's, I have a brand new set I can sell you at a discount.

There are tons of 12AX7's and 12AT7's out there. The 12AX7's have a MU of 100 and the 12AT7's have an MU of 60. Aside from the brand name choices, some folks prefer to swap in tubes of lower MU values for example, 5751's instead of 12AX7's and 12AV7's instead of 12AT7's. Good thing is the pre-amp tubes are inexpensive.

12AU7 17 *
4003 19
5963 19
5815 19
6189 19
ECC82 17 *

12AV7 41
5965 41

12AT7 60 *
12AZ7 60
CV4024 60
6201
6679
ECC81 60 *

5751 70 *

12AX7 100 *
CV4004 100
7025 100
6681 100
ECC83 100 *

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Thanks for the input; the tubes are glowing, although very faintly. One is so dim I'm not sure it really is glowing.

speakerfritz, I was unaware that KT-77 tubes were compatible with EL-34's. What is the advantage? What do lower MU values do to the sound?

Also, I've read that if you have individual bias adjustments for each EL-34 (in my case), you don't need to buy matched sets. Is this true? Thanks for your help. Tubes are fun. [H]

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How do the KT-77's sound? If they offer a significant improvement over stock EL-34's and the winged c EL-34's, let me know how much $$ and a description of it's sound and I'll mull it over.

Again, I'm looking to tighten up the bass and any other improvement over that is welcome.

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There are numerous sites that have rave reviews about the JJ kT-77's. Go to this link and scrow down to the bottom and you will see some comments from folks who have tried the KT-77's.

The KT-77 is a drop in replacement for the EL-34 resulting in both a improved and well defined bottom end as well as clear and accurate highs with out sacrificing the mid range. Before I bought them I could not find any site that had anythign bad to say about them. I bought a few sets in November, but have since sold the amps that I was stocking them up for. I paid 70 bucks for them from Dougs tubes, I sell a matched quad for 50 bucks plus shipping.

http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-u.htm

You can google JJ KT-77 to come up with more sites.

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"Also, I've read that if you have individual bias adjustments for each EL-34 (in my case), you don't need to buy matched sets. Is this true? "

Amps that have individual bias adjustments for each tube are more forgiving than those that do not, but matched tubes factor in other tube qualities if done correctly such as transconductance, aside from plate resistance.

My impressions are that the bias adjustment process really is fine tuning proerties associated with differneces in plate resistance between tubes to balance them, but can not compensate for significant differences in transconductance.

Anyone fee free to clarify or correct.

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