12AU7 Genalex or Psvane for Cayin Hybrid Integrated H80A

So for those who are recommending NOS, other than those already mentioned (Andy, Brent), who else are reliable & trustworthy? I do want to try NOS someday even though I feel my system is almost perfect in every aspect of sound quality I value. BTW, I highly value a deep & wide soundstage, intrinsic detail retrieval (instrument/vocal(s) placement & separation), and full accurate tight bass. But I also enjoy a warm & engaging sound that will not fatigue - I listen for hours on end.

I really haven’t done much tube rolling after this last set of GL, which when initially installed sounded absolutely glorious. They were not bright or hard or glassy; right out of the gate they were just sublime. I have had them in for at least a year or more now & their character has not changed. I probably have nearly 500 hours or more on them & Im still floored by them.

If Psvane’s are bright out of the gate, I may not even want to try them. Not to imply that after 50 to 100 hours or so I may not actually like them, but I am somewhat skeptical about burn in time. Only because in my limited experience or perhaps it is with my system, waiting hundreds of hours for the tubes to settle in has not really the case for me. And this has applied to the tubes in all three of my components that use tubes; Integrated, CD player & Phone Stage. They all, btw, have GL at the moment.

Andy, Brent, ... Jim McShane.

ericjcabrera ,

if you want a warmer sound then try out a set of the Shuguang Nature sound tubes.

They have a lot of that Mullard warm midrange, and not at all a typical chinese tube. Very easy to listen to all day long.

Both PSVANE and Shuguang reverse engineered the great tubes out of Europe. determine what metalurgy was used on the construction of the tube and tried to re create those highly sough after valves.

For 30 bucks a pop you can't go wrong if you like that Mullard sound,.

ericjcabrera, if you want to try the GE 5814, you should be able to pull your 12au7 out and simply insert the GE into the socket. Its so close to a 12au7, it should work in almost all circuits.

Hi Eric,

My current amp is a Cayin CS-100a and I have the 12au7 Psvane and I'm very happy with it. Other 12au7 tubes I have and tried are: Genalex, NOS Tungsol, NOS Sylvania but somehow I keep going back to the Psvanes. The NOS tungsol are very good if you like a warm sounding 12au7.

I completely agree with initforthemusic, it is a highly resolving tube. It can sound a tad bright depending on what other preamp tubes you're using, as always synergy is key. Initially I found it too bright and "shouty" even, which is why I experimented and tried other 12au7's. 

It took me a couple of months to find my winning preamp tube combination and the Psvane's are definitely a mainstay. In my experience it was all about achieving the right balance of detail and warmth and I got that with the Psvane. Hope this helps!