I have the Mapltree headphone amp. with all the bells and whistles. It came with the Sovtek 5751 (is it really that or a relabelled 12AX7?). I have bought some kind of fancy NOS 5751s, both GE and RCA. I didn't think the bass was as good or as fast as the Sovtek. The sound was syrupy. Now, what if I try the ECC83/12AX7? (i live in Denmark).
What works best for your ears and how? I don't want any more color than the Sovteks or my cables give me.
I love this headamp. I happened to have ordered a McAlister PL-10 preamp and Peter McAlister says the headphone amp qualities of this preamp are really good. I'll be very happy if it comes close to the Mapletree.
I have had very good success with Audio Note Lexus interconnects and Moon-Audio black dragon cable. These are warm and detailed and i have a feeling that there is a nice interaction between these cables and the Sovteks and that the NOS tubes i tried added too much warmth on top of the cables. I certainly lost details with those NOS 5751s as well.
