Tube replacement for the Calypso?

Try Kevin at Upscale Audio. He is a big tube dealer and carries the Calypso. He can make some informed suggestions deepending on the sound you're looking for. I personally have found the original tubes hard to beat overall.

I have spent quite a bit of time and money testing tubes on the Calypso. First off my experience with the stock 12AX7 Sovtek tubes was very bad. I’ve had three sets and they all were very noisy. I tried a fourth Cryo-treated Sovtek and it was better but not to my standards. I also tried cryo-treated GE and WE Jan N.O.S. Tubes and found them to be a good step forward at an adorable price. The WE was a bit slow and thick for my taste but excellent midrange. The GE was better balanced but not as good of dynamics. All of the cryo-treated 12AX7 tubes came from www.tubeman.com and were well matched and very quite. I then tried some tubes from Upscale Audio, Kevin is maybe the most knowledgeable in tubes and has the highest standards of any. He also has the highest prices, but you know what your getting, THE BEST. I tried a Philips Holland 1959 12AX7 under the Pope brand name. Same tube as the Bugle Boy. This was very dynamic and extremely extended with very tight bass. It tends to the treble a bit more than all the others and would be great if your system is slow or dark. The Mullard Britain Military 12AX7 a.k.a. CV4004 is silk with punch. Everything about it is perfect. Pace, dynamics, bass, extended highs, transparent, dead quite and the most lush midrange available. It is not cheap at $80.00 a tube, but it’s well worth the cost. There were three pair available at Audiogon a couple days ago for big discounts. All were bought from Kevin. The most wonderful tube was a Telefunken 12AX7 but I am still trying to find a quite pair. These tubes have for the most part been exhausted and the ones left are less than perfect. Kevin does have them available but the cost is too high for me.
Now that was the 12AX7, I also switched the 6922 with NOS tubes. I got one set of Russian 6H23 Type 3 from Kevin and a pair of Cryo- treated Russian from Tubeman. I liked the Cryo sightly better, but for the price I would go with Kevins.
Tubes really mattered a lot in my system, Sony SCD-1, Plinius SA-102 amps, Dunlavy IVa speakers and Nordost Valhalla cabling. It may be that a less revealing system the weaknesses of the Sovtek are not so apparent, but in mine it’s huge.
As far as other dealers quarry at Audiogon, there are a ton. Sam who sells alot on Audiogon seems very reputable, he is working with me to find an exceptable Telefunken.

I too went through three factory replaced pairs of Sovtek 12ax7's before I found a quiet pair. The 6dj8's in my unit sounded less stringent than the 6h23 Type III's (which I have several pairs of.) As you said, it is system dependent and in saying that, each person will have to find what suits them the best.
Each tube I tried bettered the original in one area but fell short in another. The GE's were too bright. I agree with the Telefunkin but find one that is good is the trick.
I have balanced my system out using the originals and have no complaints. You got to know that "Better" is in the ears of the beholder also. Just got to try and see.

This is an interesting thread: I also went through 3 pairs of the Sovtek's but I ended up sending the unit back to my dealer. Clearly there is a problem here: why does Aesthetix, who has a great reputation, repeatedly ship this product with inferior or faulty tubes? My first two sets were unlistenable. The 3rd set was good for about a week and then the noise came back. Perhaps I should have experimented with some other tubes, but I lost interest in the unit and returned it. Is there a quality assurance issue with this company or are they just sitting on a large inventory of crappy tubes?

I think they, like Audible Illusions, went through a bad batch of the Sovteks. It happens. They test well at first and then die.
Mine made crackle noises and some hiss. It was always one tube that went bad out of the set and always the 12ax7.
A manufacturer has to use tubes that would be readily available. Hence the problem.
Since I finally got a new set of good tubes, the preamp has been absolutely quiet and produces a lovely sound comparable to the best I have ever heard.
Aesthetix always promptly replaced them without me even sending the old one back. I now have a few good spares.

That is good to know. Perhaps I should have hung in there longer.. was so frustrated I turned around and bought a nice SS pre, the Ayre K-1x. I am extremely pleased with it, but it would have been nice to have introduced tubes into my system for more roundness and warmth.

The Ayre K1x was my next choice in a preamp if I hadn't gotten the tube thing straightened out. I don't think you went wrong with it Msaines. It is truly an excellent preamp.