Primaluna - Rolling pre tubes question...



I'm new to rolling tubes, and have been using the stock 12AU7.
I've a PL Prologue premium integrated with 2 12AU7's per channel. I want to test a new pair(before investing in more), so wondering if front or rear position would best reveal the new tubes character?

Thanks,
Darren
128x128dmhenley

Showing 6 responses by saki70

+1 for what Newbee said .
If you received your amp with the stock power tubes , they are decent . They should be Shuguang EL-34's with reddish brown bases . You'll get as many different suggestions as replies for powertubes to try .
What do you wish to gain or change with your tube rolling ?

Happy Tunes
I have the Primaluna Dialogue Premium , basically the big brother of your Prologue Premium . I have settled on the same power tube , the Black Treasure 6CA7 .
If you can wait a while I have some Amperex 12AU7's and some
7316's that I will be rolling in a few days with the BT's .
I was also thinking of the Cifte's as well but don't have any to try .
A less expensive alternative to the Amperex with most of the same characteristics would be some BEL's . They are the same design but made in a different factory (India) and time period .
If you do try some Cifte's , I would be interested in your opinion on how they do with your BT's .

Good Luck
If the Cifte's take you in the right direction , you may want to try them in the driver position also . The two front/middle tubes control the input section and the two back/outside tubes control the driver section .
Some people will experiment further with different tubes in each section to further tailor the sound . There are many possibilities !
Have fun and let us know how it goes .
Saki70
Dmhenley ;
I am sorry the Cifte's didn't work out for you .
If the price doesn't scare you... try some 7316's in the input section . Far & away the best that I have tried to date .
For less money you could try Amperex made by BEL in India which would give a good taste of the 7316's . Both of these offer a warm tone . The BEL's may be around the same price as the Cifte's .
Amperex 12AU7 D getter long plates were not to my liking in this position . I have not tried Mullards with this amp but did use them in my previous amp , a Prologue II which used 12AX7's for inputs .
I tried Amperex Valvo's for drivers and they didn't work out either . The Valvo's tended to take away what the 7316's brought in , as did others that I tried as drivers .
I have not been able to find other tubes for the driver section that don't detract from the various input offerings .

Learsfool & Orpheus10 ;
I have been thinking along those same lines concerning the PL 12AU7's , they seem to be rather neutral also . They allowed me to here a large difference between the KT-120's and the 6CA7's when used as inputs . The difference was less prevalent with other tubes rolled into the input section . So far they are the best drivers that I have tried , allowing me to hear all of the different tubes that I have rolled .
Mechans ;
Yes , Psvane does make a TII 12AU7 . But I have not found been able to find out much about them .