|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
69.141.96.215
In Reply to: RE: New production 12AX7 for Paragon System E phono preamp posted by tigerdog on February 04, 2017 at 23:50:39
Clean, quiet, and highly affordable is the Sovtek 12AX7LPS, which will be OK even with AC heating, given its spiral wound, hum bucking, heater.I suggest you use another variant in the line section. The "reissue" TungSol will give you a bit of the famous NJ "chime", which seems to be needed.
In any event, discuss your needs with AA sponsor Jim McShane. He deals in honest advice and properly culled merchandise.
Eli D.
Edits: 02/05/17Follow Ups:
Just curious but what is a NJ chime?
NJ the land of fences. But you know what the fences are for don't you - to keep people IN!!!! NJ has so many people leaving that they actually added an "EXIT TAX". Yes it is called an exit tax. If you move out of the state you pay 2.5% of your house sale.
NJ "chime" is a bit of top end energy associated with RCA (Camden/Harrison) and TungSol (Newark/Bloomfield) made tubes.
Guess why I like a mixture of Mullard and RCA tubes. :> D Balance, not overemphasis, is what I crave throughout the entire audio band.
BTW, I am located very near exit 8A of the NJ turnpike.
Eli D.
Don't forget the big bang was discovered in Holmdel NJ by Arno Penzia and Robert Wilson. Or was that the microwave background radiation? Just kidding.
I just moved out of NJ about a year ago. The entire shore area is changing and not for the better.
The new Tungsol 12ax7 has been great as the input tube on my Quicksilver monos ......they are dead quiet and are great top to bottom. I prefer them to several nos 12ax7 i have used. Great for a modern production. Ive used the LPS and they are quiet and seemed to last forver. Didnt like them in my dac, but were very good in amps
Thanks, Eli. The Paragon uses DC filament heating but has always been susceptible to hum, so the spiral filament of the Sovtek can only help. I use the phono section primarily to drive a professional sound card for digitizing LPs; low noise is of particular concern; the less there is, the less to clean up later in production.
The AES 12AX7 survey shows the Sovtek as one of the more noisy (3 out of 4) and having a bit of a bass rise; seems to be at bit at odds with your comments. Maybe just a fluke of the test methodology?
I do think Eli is right about the sound of the new production Tung Sol. Nice tone if you can't invest in something fancier than that (NOS). I wouldn't mess with the phono gain tubes but the other two might be amenable to a meaningful tone roll.
just realized the AES survey "noise" figure reflects microphonics; not really a concern in this application. Hrm.
Yes about being somewhat microphonic prone. LPS = long plate spiral. ;> ) The variant is more of a HIFI than a guitar tube. You can always use silicone or neoprene rubber "O" rings, to tame microphonics.
Make sure that you get phono grade specimens.
Eli D.
Before I even considered answering....scary
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: