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tubes for audible illusions mod 3

I was looking to see what tubes people use in the AI mod 3, it is a very popular preamp and want to see what people use.I use a Telefunken cc'a in the phono and a Siemens cc'a in the line stage My mod 3 has the gold phono board. I have a VTL mono 125 power amp with tesla j&j el34's and telefunken 12at7's driving alon 5's. The turntable is a basis 2001 with a graham 1.5t/c with a benz ruby and graham silver cable , power cords are cardas , cable between pre and power is cardas neutral ref. and speaker cable is apex. Oh I also have theta digital stuff but analog is king. thanks
lake513
6 responses Add your response
lake513 OP
123 posts
 
thank you for the thoughts on you choice of tubes . ///update i just put in some 1950's brimar 12AT7 black plate tubes in my vtl 125 mono block amps much sweeter than the telefunken NOS and mullard 1970's box plate 12AT7's i had been using try them if your amp uses a 12AT7 tube very nice sound tell me what you think thanks
artmaltman
769 posts
 
I've had best experience in the line stage with New Old Stock Sovtek 6922's from Kevin Deal. Much better than original Sovteks and even better than the sought after Tungsrams, IMO.
youkali
3 posts
 
My current setup is Siemens in the line stage and new Sovteks in phono. My cartridge is "only" an Aurum Beta, and the Sovteks seem to add some punch to the analog, so they're still in there. Partly to give some sort of baseline as to how long the Siemens last. The Siemens are great for vocals, but they tend to sound more congested on big orchestral stuff. Amperex I'd rank next to them. Tungsram I'd list just above the new Sovteks. This is into a ARC Classic 30 and Triangle Celius speakers, which love the 3A's great dynamic contrasts.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,346 posts
 
Monk: I retubed a friend's 3A with the 7dj8/PCC88's (Siemens), but substituted old production Soviet 6922's from ATSI in the phono section. Maybe it was your post that I read over @ AA on this? Anyway, big improvement to the line stage, plus the phono section has a deeper sound stage/fuller mids as well. I will be shipping my last pair of the 7dj8's to another 3A owner (next week) and look forward to their comments as they have a very nice system to try them in. The first retube has been going strong for 8 months now.
wda
37 posts
 
When I owned an Audible 3 I liked the sound of the Gold Aero 7308s. When I had the 3A I thought the original 6922s sounded better.
monk
120 posts
 
I love the sound of Amperex Bugle Boys and Orange globe 6dj8's. But the naked, less is more design of the AI M3a I have, those tubes will last about a year. But I have found that using a pair 7DJ8 versions of the above tubes in the line stage (with 6922 Siemens in the phono), has been my solution! I have the same set of tubes for 2 years now! Still test very strong, with killer base, and all that Amperex "wet" soundstage. A nice combo for me.
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