2. amps-preamps
  3. 1261618684

12ax7's to roll

Happy Holidays A'goners. I have a Rogue Cronus Magnum that I bought from Agon. I love it and I'm curious about tube rolling. A very reputable tube source that most tube fans in the U.S. would be familiar with, recommended replacing my 12ax7's with Telefunken 12ax7's. They're really expensive as far as I'm concerned. I'm not wealthy and have kids in college. I could certainly swing it but is there other alternatives that cost less than $230 for a matched pair that will give me a good tube rolling experience? I currently have Sylvanias and I love the sound. I'm just curious as I've never tube rolled in my life.
donjr

Showing 2 responses by tomcy6

tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,532 posts
 
Your Sylvanias are good tubes and you may have trouble finding something that you prefer.

Telefunkens are considered to be the ultimate neutral, detailed NOS (and very long lived). Amperex are reputed to have the best, most natural midrange. Mullard are considered warm and less detailed. These are all generalizations which may not be true in your system.

I would do a search for tube dealers and talk to one of the good ones about what changes you would like to hear from a new set of tubes. A good dealer's experience is invaluable as tube rolling can be an expensive crapshoot.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,532 posts
 
Some 12AX7 and 12AU7s can last up to 10,000 hours. As has been said, Telefunkens are known for long life. Some tubes were advertised as 10,000 hour tubes such as the Mullard 10M line. I think that 3-5,000 hours is more realistic.

Small signal tubes, like any tube, can conk out at any time. Most won't though. They more often become noisy or microphonic. That's part of the crapshoot. It's always a good idea to have a spare set of tubes in case this happens. A good dealer can advise you on this topic as well.
More to discover