n.e.w. p3 preamp tubes

Rocket · « **on:** 13 Nov 2005, 02:16 am »

Hi Guys,

I have no experience with tubes except that i know that they glow when i light up my n.e.w. preamp.

I bought this amplifier secondhand 5 years ago and i presume that it is about 7 - 8 years old. I don't think the tubes have been replaced over this period, they appear to be working fine but i'm wondering if i should replace them?

The preamp using the following:

2 x Jan Phillips (6189w) ecg 8752

2 x Non descript australian tubes 12 Bh7a

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards

Rod

boy_lah · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Nov 2005, 12:05 am »

hi,

I had the same pre and since sold it to a mate. bought my in sydney ages back. those valves should really be changed ~2-3 years depending on use. a valve's sound quality will deteriorate after the 2-3 mark but may continue to function for years after that. but by then, they sound awful.

from memory, you have a mix of 12AX7 and 12AU7 - i can't remember which is which. they're not expensive valves. have some fun, try tracking down some NOS (New Old Stock) like Mullars and Tungsten. depending on the valve you use, they'll sound different. New Chinese or Russian stocks are cheap.

enjoy!
C

213Cobra · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Nov 2005, 09:08 pm »

I used an NEW P3 for several years until very recently. It is a very fine sounding preamp with modest gain. The two front position tubes should be 12AU7 or equivalent, and I found NOS Seimens ECC802S to peform beautifully there, but you have lots of range in the 12AU7 world. The rear position tube is a 12BH7, NOS RCA being the best.

Phil

Khorn · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 Nov 2005, 08:00 pm »

I had the N.E.W. on three seperate occasions I liked the sound so much. I only gave it up when I went to an SS pre that was good enough that I condidered it an upgrade and the reason was mainly for the noise level as I use Klipschorns. I still use an N.E.W. A-60 very highly upgraded amp. As a matter of fact it's out having dual custom tranformers installed now and will end up being what amounts to a dual mono configuration.

I used 12AU7 nos for the front and a 12AT7 in the rear. For some reason they went to the 12AT7 in the later model production.

Rocket · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Nov 2005, 01:21 am »

Hi Khorn,

Thanks for your response. My preamp must be an earlier version as the rear tubes are 12bh7's. My preamp uses 4 tubes as war audio modified it for the previous owner, apparently the extra tube helps to improve the sound

. A couple of years ago i installed a remote volume control in the preamp and i find it so handy.

My friend has a modified n.e.w. a60 which he likes a lot. I think some caps were upgraded in the unit. I sure wish i knew someone local who did modifications to the n.e.w. gear as i have an n.e.w. dc-66 (the battery amp) which is in pieces at my hifi store and has been so for about 2 years.

Btw what ss preamp did you purchase?

Regards

Rod

Khorn · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Nov 2005, 06:22 pm »

I purchased the Accustic Arts Preamp 1. It's manufactured in Germany. I have been really happy with its performance.