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Best tubes to use in M3A? Help

Okay, I've tried 3 different pairs of tubes from
2 different sources and they are all noisy. The 1st
2 pairs I tried were 1970's Sovteks from Upscale Audio.
The first pair were dead quiet and sounded fantastic -
for about a week!! I sent them back, and the next pair
I got were noisy from the get go.
I just received a pair of Tungsrams from an independant
guy online and they are also noisy at idle. I'm thinking
of splurging and buying some expensive Telefunkens but I'm starting to think maybe it's this preamp that
is ruining perfectly good tubes. Can this happen? If it
wasn't for that 1st set of Sovteks sounding sooo good,
I would have given up on it by now and bought myself a good
solid state pre. Can anyone who has experience with an M3A
give me some advice with this dilemma? I'm at a loss.
Thanks in advance.
trank

Showing 1 response by tnkujry

tnkujry
36 posts
 
As I recall, the gain on the M3A is substantial which lends itself to a higher noise floor - so this is what you are working against. The Mullards are well respected, and if Rayhall's friend has had a good experience, they are worth a try.

Good luck,

Barton
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