12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC

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Flac2Dac

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12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« on: 10 Jul 2011, 12:14 am »
I'm a tube noobie, looking to try some rolling with my EE Minimax DAC. I guess Alex uses a stock Shuguang, and I'm wondering what might work well in its place; just to compare.

I hear a lot of talk about Mullards, but I almost wonder if they have that rich, syrup-y sound that some people like with tubes. FWIW, I don't think I'm that guy. I'm curious about Genalex Gold Lions. I've heard people dig them in power amps; not sure how they'd work out with a DAC/Pre?

So...what are some of your favorite 12au7s, and has anyone had particularly good results in their EE?

CD

bunky

Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #1 on: 10 Jul 2011, 01:49 am »
i like the crazy expensive ones like the Amperex Holland 7316 PQ longplate D-getter or the Siemens 12AU7 Nickel plate.the only good thing is that you only need one tube instead of a matched pair.

bladesmith

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Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #2 on: 10 Jul 2011, 02:00 am »
I just put a matched set of cryo treated Genalax Gold lions in my Pre amp/amp and so far they are working great, love the sound..they were an upgrade from my original tubes..


According to cryoset.com they are suppose to get better after about 100 hrs...

good luck...

Flac2Dac

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Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #3 on: 10 Jul 2011, 02:43 am »
Thanks guys. I really know nothing of tubes; barely even where to shop for them. I've been sticking to Upscale's selection. I'm thinking of trying the Gold Lion ECC82/B749 and Mullard CV4003/12au7. Thoughts?

CD

AnalogTubes

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Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #4 on: 13 Jul 2011, 03:14 am »
The Genalex is superior to any of the current production tubes and most of the NOS tubes. Though we carry all lines of tubes in my own gear I'm using the Genalex.

Flac2Dac

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Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #5 on: 13 Jul 2011, 01:49 pm »
The Genalex is superior to any of the current production tubes and most of the NOS tubes. Though we carry all lines of tubes in my own gear I'm using the Genalex.

Hmm, that's pretty high praise. It's not cheap; can you tell me what sound to expect with this little ecc82?

CD

AnalogTubes

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Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #6 on: 13 Jul 2011, 02:08 pm »
One of the characteristics of all the Genalex is a very wide frequency range and well balanced response. I find the detail amazing.

For fair disclosure, as I said earlier, I am a tube dealer. I spent two or three months testing the Genalex line against all the other current brands of tubes. I found them superior to all other tubes except maybe some of the Shuguang Treasures. I thought they were comparable to each other but they have different sound qualities.

Gopher

Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #7 on: 13 Jul 2011, 03:49 pm »
The Genelex is one I want to try.  If anyone has a  pair of them and is curious about the Psvanes, I'll swap ya one for one.

Digitrax

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Re: 12au7 for Eastern Electric Minimax DAC
« Reply #8 on: 27 Jul 2011, 07:24 pm »
As a matter of fact, I have TWO matched pairs of Cryo-Set treated Genelex Gold Lion 12AU7's, which I was using in the evaluation of a preamp I'm currently designing.  One (matched) pair has about 150 hours on them and I'd sell the pair for $45 including shipping (in U.S.) - they cost me around $95 shipped. The other pair are BRAND NEW - haven't even had the shrink-wrap taken off them!  I'd like to get $75 (shipped) for those.

Unfortunately, since I've decided to go another way vis a vis the valves in my pre, I don't have a use for the PSVanes, (although I'm extremely interested in checking out their CV181's - you don't have any of those do you?).

Feel free to contact me (Andy) @ (734) 272-3412 or email me at digitrax@juno.com

FWIW, I really liked the Genelex 12AU7's and felt they stood up to all but the best NOS (+ without the associated "are they really NOS?" guessing games).  Excellent balance, good extension/detail, very good dimensionality for an AU7 - I was very close to spec'ing them for this pre, but decided to go octal instead.

BTW, I'm also "acdtr" on eBay, if you need references