What’s in the box **Tubed Edition**

Foton 6N6P power tubes for my Feliks Echo.

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Pair of matched 12B4 power tubes, a Tung-Sol 12SN7 and a Jan 12SL7GT all for my Kenzie Ovation. I have not tried a 12B4 yet because I find the stock 1626 tubes have enough power for my headphone needs.

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With gratitude to @andris, here’s a vintage 6SN7:

@andris is a stand-up dude.

Testing the tube as I write this message. Tone is fairly thick and mid-centric, and also easy going.

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BANGERS AFTER BANGERS!

And the blanket for good luck!

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That’s mighty kind of you, @generic. Hope you enjoy it!

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Damn, that’s quite a haul! Where did you dig up that WE422A? I was looking for that when I “settled” for the Philips Miniwatt GZ34s. I could find singles here an there, but no pairs.

If you don’t want them, I’ll be happy to take them off your hands at the “stand-up dude” rate of $10 per tube.

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I found someone with one on headfi that I bought for a good price and found another person with a bunch of them but they wanted way too much. I’m actually still working with the second seller on a trade but it might not pan out.

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:joy: Nice try
[20 characters]

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I think @PaisleyUnderground would be very happy at $20 per tube, any tube. You are not just a stand-up guy, but a veritable superman. :smiley:

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Reflektor 6N23P driver tubes for my Feliks Echo.

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I bowed to peer pressure and replaced my toilet-cleaning mousepad with a scarf (still used for toilet cleaning but at least I can wash it) as the tube background.

Just received these from Vintage tubes:

1. RCA 1960s Clear Top 12au7

2. Amperex (Holland) 1950s GZ34/5AR4

3. Tung Sol 1960s 6550

4. RCA 1940s 5U4G

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I love the Valvo logos!

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Guess this goes in the tube box

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Those amperex might be very good. Some rumours that the smooth plates are better than notched plates and being a 50s vintage = :+1:t4:

Excited to read your impressions.

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Picked up some Mullard EL34 to go with the 12au7’s

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Hi @andris, how did those tubes work out?

Funny story, before packing up my Mullard 12au7 to send back to Brent Jessee (because I didn’t like the lack of highs on the Nautilus), I thought what the hell, why don’t I throw it on the Pendant to prove that it doesn’t work on that either. Like you, I have Amperex 6BQ5’s too, except mine are labeled Hammond.

Well I’m completely shocked that I love it. The Pendant was very lean and neutral before, and the Mullard has added some warmth, but I don’t notice the lack of highs like I did on the Nautilus.

It now sounds a little warmer than neutral, and rock and pop sound amazing. It’s not too warm, even using the Aeolus. Still trying to decide if I like classical, but I think I do.

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I didn’t end up being a big fan. Not bad, but I felt it lacked a bit of the clarity and treble extension of the La Radiotechnique 12AU7. I also tried pairing the Mullard with the Telefunken power tubes to see if it tamed them a bit, and it did not. Right now, I think my favorite setup is the La Radiotechnique 12AU7 with either the Amperex or Raytheon (labeled Hammond) power tubes - not sure which of the power tubes I like best.

All of this said, I’ve started increasingly being bugged by the noise floor on both my Pendant and WA5, alike. Whenever I plug straight into the DAVE, it’s just SO clean. I ended up arranging a bit of a gear swap with @bpcarb, so my Pendant is en route to him, and after he finishes his demo of that, I’ll get to borrow his LTA MZ2. Will report back on that, presumably, in another amp shootout :slight_smile:

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That’s exactly what I found on the Nautilus - the Mullard lacked a lot of clarity and treble extension. It was quite disappointing, So I wasn’t expecting anything positive on my Pendant, but I didn’t realize how lean the Pendant sounded (which could have been the tubes, not the amp) compared to the Nautilus. So in my case, it seems like the inherent leanness somehow canceled out the lack of clarity.

It might be that our amps are slightly different versions, or our Mullards are different, or perhaps I just have different sound preferences. Or maybe after a few days, I’ll get tired of this warmth and want to go back to neutrality and clarity, but I’m going to enjoy the novelty for the time being.

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Here a couple of 12au7 tubes that were delivered recently. Thanks to @Wes_S for his recommendations.

I got this NOS Sylvania Gold Brand 5814A a week ago but forgot to post the photos. I like it a lot. A very neutral tube, almost too neutral for me, as I’d prefer a little more bloom in the mids.

And this used (aka affordable) but prized Amperex ECC82 Long Plate Foil D-Getter Heerlen Holland K63 January 1958 (what a mouthful) arrived today. Very excited to listen to this later.

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