I listened some more. If these 28 RCA tubes hold up there is no doubt, this is what I prefer. I am willing to foresake the strong points of the stock Russia/China tubes. Three main reasons. First, better musical illusion, in the midrange especially. Second, more musical drama. Even boring tracks sound less boring now. Third, more than with the stock tubes, the amps become chameleons. They shift according to the sound, the production of each track - a big plus in my book. So my main reaction is "I never knew this LP was that good". Like Elton John: Tumbleweed connection, things I've not played much. This is a good sign. I checked with some of the more "wool" sounding record I have, did they sound too closed in now, like one might suspect. Including Carlos Jobim: Wave (on Speakers Corner). But no, they sound good. Another plus in my book. I read somewhere that the RCAs would increase the output compared to the stock, but that is not the case for me. The only thing I miss is a bit more output and volume, "slam factor".
Atma-sphere amps best power tubes
This question has been debated before on A-gon but without a clear onclusion. I wonder, is it worth it, to upgrade from stock Russian or China output tubes (6as7g), to American NOS tubes?
It seems that everyone agrees that upgrading the Atma-sphere driver tubes from stock Russian/Chinese to NOS is well worth it. This is my experience also.
I am wondering about changing the output / power tubes too. I wonder if a change to NOS is well worth it also in the output case.
It seems likely, judging from my other equipment testing.
My Audiotailor Jade OTL headphone amp uses 1 6asg7 and 1 12ax7. No surprise - it sounds better with a good NOS 12ax7 compared to Russian/Chinese stock 12ax7.
More surprisingly, it also sounds clearly better with a NOS 6as7g output tube (General Electric US NOS). The improvement is largest with the driver tube but not so much behind with the output tube. Almost 50 50.
A lot of output tubes are involved - 28 tubes in my MA-1 amps. Changing them all is costly, and so I would like to know some user experience before I go into this.
It seems that everyone agrees that upgrading the Atma-sphere driver tubes from stock Russian/Chinese to NOS is well worth it. This is my experience also.
I am wondering about changing the output / power tubes too. I wonder if a change to NOS is well worth it also in the output case.
It seems likely, judging from my other equipment testing.
My Audiotailor Jade OTL headphone amp uses 1 6asg7 and 1 12ax7. No surprise - it sounds better with a good NOS 12ax7 compared to Russian/Chinese stock 12ax7.
More surprisingly, it also sounds clearly better with a NOS 6as7g output tube (General Electric US NOS). The improvement is largest with the driver tube but not so much behind with the output tube. Almost 50 50.
A lot of output tubes are involved - 28 tubes in my MA-1 amps. Changing them all is costly, and so I would like to know some user experience before I go into this.
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- 39 posts total
- 39 posts total