Have you read Joe's tube lore? I'll email it to you. What a way to spend a year or two...
Favorite Tube Combinations
OK, I've never been a big believer in "synergy" except maybe as a last resort and never completely bought into the idea that this or that tube sounds different in your system than mine. Well recently I've been rolling 12AX7/ECC83/5751s and 12AU7/7316/5814s and I think I'm on to something.
After many recommendations of the CBS Hytron 5814a, I was able to acquire a nice NOSish pair. In combination with a Raytheon Black Plate it sounded gorgeous as long as I was using a SS CD player. When I hooked up my Cayin CDT17a (which uses Ei 6DJ8EGs) the sound became syrupy and sloppy, dark and really not too pleasant. When I switched to the 7316 / ECC83s (JJ copy of the Telefunken E803s), everything became clearer, focused with much better definition and life. (This combination with SS was just a bit much and a little dry in the mid-range for my liking). The Raytheon Black Plate still sounds beautiful as long as the 7316 pair is in the circuit but the ideal seems to be with the JJ, at least with the Cayin in the path.
I stand a changed man.
What combinations of tubes have you found to synergize?
After many recommendations of the CBS Hytron 5814a, I was able to acquire a nice NOSish pair. In combination with a Raytheon Black Plate it sounded gorgeous as long as I was using a SS CD player. When I hooked up my Cayin CDT17a (which uses Ei 6DJ8EGs) the sound became syrupy and sloppy, dark and really not too pleasant. When I switched to the 7316 / ECC83s (JJ copy of the Telefunken E803s), everything became clearer, focused with much better definition and life. (This combination with SS was just a bit much and a little dry in the mid-range for my liking). The Raytheon Black Plate still sounds beautiful as long as the 7316 pair is in the circuit but the ideal seems to be with the JJ, at least with the Cayin in the path.
I stand a changed man.
What combinations of tubes have you found to synergize?