Since your Luxman takes 3 12AX7’s and 5 12AU7’s there’s a lot you can do. To clarify I don’t have a tube pre , but will need to get one soon as I switched pre amps and my new to me pre lacks a phono stage. As a Tekefunken fan boy with decent experience in 12AU7 and starting to learn 12AX7’s I replaced the phase tubes in my new to me tube mono blocks. I went straight to Tekefunken 12AX7’s from Brent Jesse and they were horrible. I saved them as I’m considering a Hagerman phono so no problem. I have Siemens and find them similar to Tekefunken but a bit forward on top. I have a quad of Siemens Nickel plates and they are a whole different beast. I appreciate your info about your findings. I’ve also substituted the 5751 tube in place of the 12AX7 with good results, but that probably doesn’t apply in your application. I wish I could afford a phono stage as nice as yours. Happy Listening, Mike B.
Luxman CL-38uC Phonostage Tubes
Hey everyone,
As promised, I’m back after testing a few brands of ANOS tubes for the Luxman's phonostage. I'll keep this brief to avoid any unnecessary trolling, so please kindly refrain from posting snarky comments.
The line tubes in my Luxman were Amperex 12AU7, so I decided to stick with Amperex 12ax7 for my next choice. I picked up a trio, and after listening for a couple of weeks, I really enjoyed the sound - smooth and lush without sacrificing detail. They’re definitely a keeper.
Next, I tried the highly regarded smooth plate Telefunkens. Unfortunately, I found them disappointing; they made everything sound too lifeless and sterile.
Finally, I decided to give Siemens tubes a shot, despite my previous bias against them. To my surprise, they turned out to be the best fit for my system. They delivered a wonderfully smooth and open sound with just the right amount of high frequencies. I loved them! I installed them and closed up the Luxman. They’re here to stay.
Oh, and I removed the tube shields for good - no noise issues whatsoever.
Of course this is only my subjective opinion.
That’s all for now. Take care!
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My bad! I read your post as if you replaced your 12au7s with 12ax7s and responded accordingly. My apologies for any misunderstanding I may have caused. |
@hasmarto - thanks for sharing your story! I would highly recommend to ask professional service for help, if you don’t check / test tubes by yourself, and have no experience with circuitry! |
@faustuss No problem. |
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