Looking for brighter tubes


Attention tube heads: I'm looking for brighter (more treble...not higher amounts of glow and chrome) tubes, if they exist. My amp (Jolida JD502P) has a well regarded bunch of Russian Tung Sol 6550s and 12AX7/12AT7s but I'm wondering if there's anything out there that imparts more sizzle in this amp. I do like the amp as it is...but hey..."rolling rolling rolling, keep them tubeys rolling...
wolf_garcia
I just bought a Jolida jd-502p My self about two months ago and hell yes tube rolling is fun.the first tubes I changed were the tong sol 6550's to the new production gold lion kt88's. They are not only brighter but have a better extension top to bottom and every thing is more separated with a more defined sound stage. then I moved on to the 12ax7 slot I tried some RCA JRC- 5751WA good top end but no bass at all ended up with some JJ ECC83S gold pins good overall top to bottom but lack a little sparkle in the top end so still looking I have some EI elite gold pins on order. as for the the 12at7's I ended up with some nos mullards cv4024 they are good and quite nice top to bottom and maintain nice sound stage and separation
Hi Wolf I don't have a Jolida but I do have an Octave V70Se which uses a single 12ax7 for an input and a pair of 12at7's for drivers. It came stock with a Sovtek 12ax7 and Rca 12at7wa's. For my taste the Sovtek was too bright. I also have the Russian TS 12ax7 re-issue which also is a tad bright. I needed to calm that down a bit and I like the Rca 5751's. I just received some Brimar Cv4024's and haven't tried them yet.

As far as sizzle my favorite combo so far is very expensive but unreal. Eat KT88 diamonds Gec A2900/CV6091's with the Rca 5751. With that combo the highs just sparkle. That being said I have had just horrible luck with the Eat's. Out of a quad and pair I only have 3 that are stable. I did buy them used so and they are the early versions with just the top getter and read that they were pretty unreliable. I just had to hear them and they are that good (when they work). But I did get 250 hrs of pure enjoyment. I have some vintage Gec KT88's and vintage KR Audio branded Tesla's ordered because they are supposed to be very Eat like sounding. Also as far as the Gec a2900/Cv6091 they are a high gain driver that really mates well with high transconductace tubes like Eat - vintage Gec KT88's - Ei Kt90's type 2 - Shuguang Treasure Z's and possibly the new Shuguang Psvane and TS KT120's.

Caution Tube rolling can be addictive and expensive. Yes Im a tubeaholic hehe. Tu Be or not Tu Be
I 2nd Telefunken 12AX7. Smooth plates is warmer and I prefer the ribbed plates with a higher resolution and high-end extension.
Man...the 502p sounds damn good as new (getting better every day) even without the use of this collective wisdom, so once I digest all this and cram some new glass into the thing it just might sound TOO good, thus giving me nothing else to do. Except maybe asking "Johnsonwu" to completely rebuild it. I've been using tube guitar amps since the 60's and like most professional musicians life seemed too short to worry about tubes...you just want the things to keep functioning (for interested guitar players: my current fave amp is a really sweet Reverend Goblin 5/15 with a Jensen Neo 10).

I am wondering if the Jolida transformers can handle KT120s...anybody have a clue? Well "Wilson667?" Come on man...do it! I do plan to talk to the Jolida dudes more about that.
I was wondering the same thing about the TS KT120's Myself. I haven't stumbled across any specific info on the Jolida on the web though. I have read that the KT90's tend to have a more solid state sound and less of that tube warmth. I am sure someone will let me know if I am wrong.