Tube Rolling in The 500C

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Hi Guys,
I recently purchased a 500C as a second amp to my Jolida 502, the Fisher has quickly become my primary unit and the Jolida now sits idle. With the Jolida I had experimented with quite a few 12ax7, 5751,6550, and also 12at7 tubes to find a few combos that worked well. Changing the preamp tube pairs of course gave the most flavor difference, while 12at7 and 6550 tubes also change different and more subtle things about the sound.
In the 500C the preamp tubes function in series with each tube carrying both channels. Until last night I had been rolling pairs of the same tube into these positions, like I had with the Jolida, RCA's, Telefunken, Mullard, and some new production pairs all rolled in at some point. The Tele sounds right in this amp and is the original, I find myself coming back to it for reference after listening to others. The RCA BP longplate has less energy in the HF but this tube has flesh....meat...the mids and lower mids are exceptional, bass is deep and prominent, but a bit flabby though. If only I could combine the Tele and the RCA....wait a minute, they are in series, I can! Last night I rolled in a Tele Smooth plate into V14 and the RCA into V15. The combo is just what you'd expect, the strength of the Tele for imaging, HF, and punch are there while the Rca's smoothness and flesh help with the sometimes thin Tele sound, the Tele helps tighten and define the bass while lending clarity to the top end. It's close to perfect.
Does anyone else mix tubes in this way with their 500C? It seems to be a nice way to narrow down and customize the sound of the 500C, makes me feel like a chef trying different ingredients that will compliment each other.....bon appetit!

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Topic - Tube Rolling in The 500C - kukakunga 11:42:30 03/06/07 (4)

Re: Tube Rolling in The 500C - sgmlaw 08:24:35 03/07/07 (0)

Re: Tube Rolling in The 500C - Eli Duttman 17:12:43 03/06/07 (2)

Re: Tube Rolling in The 500C - kukakunga 19:03:08 03/06/07 (1)

Pre-amp section recipe... - mpathus 20:58:54 03/07/07 (0)

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