Tube Phono-Stage question.

The bass from the stock tubes seemed mushy and slow! There was not much impact or slam! Thats how it sounded with my gear. The harmonixs tubes have much better bass control! I recently had spine surgery, so for months all I have done is listen to music! I have kinda been obsessed! :) So, I guess I am really sensitive to changes in my system. Hopefully after a couple of days these new tubes will sound even better! What is the best web-site to buy tubes if I get an itch to try some higher-end tubes like the ones mentioned above? Thanks again for the input!

Rick , you did have a rega exact cartridge that was faulty.Which you had to return which is very rare but happens with anything but, Now you have purchased a Benz Micro Glider. Here the price for the Exact 11 new I paid 450 taxes in. A new benz micro glider is double that plus the tax here. The phono pre is what you should spend the money on in my opinion anyway. A good 500 dollar cartridge and a 1000 dollars on a good new or used phono pre if chosen properly will really open your eyes.If money is an issue like it is for most of us in this economic climate you would be even more surprised at how some of the older pre amps with a built in phono section that can be bought for low dollars and just used for phono section will still out perform most new 500 dollar phono amps. Case in point ADCOM 565 was known for a great phono section and can be had for a couple of hundred, the classe's more but better still.Not knocking you , I just don,t get the logic of using a cartridge that good and a pre-amp that just can,t dig your monies worth out of it.The pre-amplification in a system can make or break even the best gear being fed into it and if it can,t keep up with what it is being fed and convey it out to the speakers then the potential is derailed. The phono pre is just as important and in my humble opinion should not be the peice to make consessions with. Like speakers are just as important and even the best pair can,t reproduce what they don,t see. It,s just when I look at the rest of your equipment in your system which is all Excellant gear to not see its potential for anologue for you to hear how truly good vynil can be, well for a long time vynil guy its a sin ! Irreguardless of what I or anyone else thinks its your ears and your dollars so do enjoy the sounds of vynil. Cheers

In a phono section especially, the quality of the tubes is critical - as is the MATCHING of the tubes. I have bought from Upscale Audio, who is not cheap - but after never being totally happy with any of the tubes I had used, I figured I'd give them a try. The results were far better than I expected. Even a set of the basic Winged C 6550's from them totally blew away my previous set of the same from Conrad Johnson. The level of matching was truly superb and the sound was like I had bought a new amp.

The reason I upgraded the cartridge was because I had a faulty cartridge and was given the opportunity to get a better cartridge at a really good price! Given, the performance capability of this cartridge I would upgrade my phono stage over time. I can within one year from the date of purchase get 100% of my money back for my current phono stage to put towards a better quality phono stage. I can't do that with a cartridge. So, within the next six months I will most likely be looking at phono stages in the $2500 dollar range! One I have enough albums to play then it may be time for a better turntable. Analog is super new to me so, I am taking small steps while I learn. I do appreciate all the input. It really helps give me more knowledge for future purchases.

Try a pair of Sovtek 12AX7LPS tubes they will be quieter and should have the same or better bass response. You should pay about $12 each. These are the best new production 12AX7's for use in a Phono stage (maybe the best period).