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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Reminds me of what a friend of mine did. posted by nightdoggy on April 10, 2007 at 16:31:51:
Thanks.I'm really, really glad I went out to the shop today. The Electro-Harmonix 12AU7s probably aren't the best thing out there but in the Foreplay, they're damned near the best thing I've ever heard, solid-state included. Again, I'm not wild about their 12AX7s, so I was expecting to be underwhelmed. The only other tube the store had was JAN Philips, the only pair of which I've heard (6922s, actually) had basically been like the Eis: they're not lacking in anything, but they don't really have anything going for them other than being perfectly satisfactory. It's clichéd as all hell, but the EH tubes seem to have removed a layer of murk that I had never noticed before: I'm literally hearing little licks and flourishes buried in the mix that I've never noticed; everything is completely crystal, and there's a hell of a lot of bass without the unnatural boomy feel of the bass-boost function on cheap portables. Perfectly natural-sounding, which is a bit funny because it's lower-fidelity and all.
The Ei tubes are Yugoslavian; I've seen their tubes specifically advertised as "Ei Yugoslavia" so I'm guessing there's some other factory or daughter company. I'm not sure if it's referring to the small Yugoslavia that changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro, or if it's greater Yugoslavia, the country that split up violently in the early '90s. They sound a bit watery, weak, and unengaging, although finely detailed. The EHs are every bit as detailed if not more so, with much *more* of everything all across the band. They were magical over speakers right away, but I didn't like them with headphones at first... they were a bit too forward, too aggressive, so I switched back to the limper Ei tubes for night listening earlier this evening...
When I had listened for a bit, I put on a Spacemen 3 disc on repeat at low volume and by the time I woke up from my nap, the tubes sounded absolutely wonderful with cans. This could be my refreshed head, from a proper extended warm-up, or just a little bit of burn-in. Whatever the cause, they've had about six hours on them already and have just gotten better over that time. This can't be the final word in this sort of tube... if it only gets better from here, it's going to be a great journey.
I also just bought a third pair of tubes for the Foreplay, and with that I'm going to give the buying a break for a while. But they were cheap ($8 apiece with free shipping) and it was a chance for a third opinion, as it were... and it really is something different, because the seller misstated what they are. The tubes were advertised as GE "5965/12AU7", but it was only after I had bought them alreaday that I looked them up and found that a 5965 isn't a substitute for a 12AU7 after all. 5965s and their cousins 12AV7s are supposed to be safe in the Foreplay, thankfully. All's well that ends well, I guess, and it'll be interesting to have a different type as well as a different brand (and also an NOS brand, although the Ei Yugos might be used old-stock), even if that was a mistake. The GE 5965s are supposed to be pretty good, too. Yay.
Wow, that was a long post. God, I probably come off as the biggest ditz in the world... I feel like I'm falling in love, literally, and I'm acting like it. Jay-sus. I'll get better.
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Follow Ups
- Wow, I feel like less of a moron now... - Mark Tinordi 20:40:34 04/10/07 (1)
- Re: Wow, I feel like less of a moron now... - gortnipper 22:20:03 04/10/07 (0)
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