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Recommended
Tubes
We
often get asked for recommendations for quality tubes to be used throughout
our Bella EXtreme amplifiers as well as the many other products found
throughout this and our retail website. We are not interested in stocking
several different makes of tubes but we do listen to our customers. The tubes
mentioned below have been mentioned several times to me by customers of our
Signature and Reference Series products as well as owners of the many of the
tube products currently on the market. Our personal experience with Thetubestore
has led us to the point of being able to highly recommend their products and
services. You may choose from any number of their available tube manufacturers
if you have a preference.
Thetubestore,
has no problem drop-shipping these tubes directly to us, Response Audio NY, at
no additional cost for installation into your new product. Just use our
address for the shipping address when ordering online from their site. We make
nothing on the sale of tubes from thetubestore but rather offer this as
a convenient service.
If
we are custom building your amplifier, we will bias and test the unit with
your new tubes installed.
Please
follow this link to purchase tubes from Thetubestore.
If
you are interested in ordering Tubes from The tube store, it would be
greatly appreciated if you could do so by clicking on this TUBESTORE logo
above to place your order online.
Here
is a list of some of the tubes our customers have commented on being their
favorites in various products. You may also contact us for recommendations
based on your personal listening habits and preferences. Please note that the
order in which most of these tubes are listed is based primarily on customer
favorites and do not reflect any influence from myself unless otherwise noted.
For
a more "tube like" presentation, the Shuguang KT88-98 is the #1 choice providing
exceptional detail and transparency while maintaining that seductive tube
sound.
Musica Bella
3205 MKII & original
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Svetlana
EL34
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JJ KT77
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Electro
Harmonic EL34
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SED EL34
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Shuguang
KT88
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SED KT88
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EH6550 /
KT88
Bella EXtreme
100 mono bloc amplifiers
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Tung-Sol 6550
(see below)
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EH KT88
Very clean and articulate. Lacks the body of the Shuguang.
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Shuguang
KT88-98 (my personal favorite)
Smooth presentation with a good sense of body and warmth without
sacrificing air and extension
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EH 6550
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JJ KT88
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Sovtek 6550
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SED 6550
Bella EXtreme
Custom ASL Hurricane mono bloc amplifiers
Bella EXtreme
Custom ASL Monsoon MK II mono bloc amplifiers
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Svetlana
EL34
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Electro
Harmonic EL34
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JJ KT77
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SED EL34
Audio Note Custom M2 Preamp - lineboard
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JJ ECC802s gold
pin (my personal favorite)
Very clean yet musical. On the warmer side of neutral
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JAN JRC-12AU7
tube made by Raytheon
A bit pricey but many enjoy it's characteristics
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Electro-Harmonix
12AU7A / ECC82 Gold
Very detailed and clean. A little on the lean side
Audio Note Custom DAC 2.1 Deluxe
Personal findings:
Like anything audio, tubes are very
subjective and personal. There are many out there that frown upon Sovtek
tubes (Russian) just as there are those who will not run a Chinese tube. Don't let
anybody tell you one tube is better than another. This is your system
we are talking about and they are not the one listening to it. If you come
across a tube or combination thereof that you like, that is the tube for you regardless of what
others say. "Build your
system for yourself, not the critics"
The word on the street is that
the new Tung-Sol 6550's are the cat's pajamas. I have not yet personally
auditioned these but plan to very soon.
I have heard word that they can
be ever so slightly noisy in some circuits. This is not a big deal to me as
it is very slight and does not interfere with the music,
If anyone else out there is
running this tube in one of our products, please feel free to drop me a line
and let me know what your findings are.
Thetubestore
also has some excellent selections for signal tubes used in the Ming-Da
preamps such as those by Electro Harmonix, Tesla, Ei and even some NOS
treasures by Tungsram, Mullard and many more.
 
Shuguang
KT88 EH
KT88
SED KT88
EH6550
SED EL34
EH EL34
Power tubes:
For the emotional,
seductive tube sound while maintaining detail, resolution and transparency, I
have found good Chinese tubes such as the Shuguang KT88-98 to be among the best.
Looking for a clean, dynamic presentation? The EHKT88 fills the slot.
If you are looking for a cleaner, more accurate and dynamic presentation
while sacrificing a bit of body and fullness, the KT88 and Sovtek 6550 tubes would be my first consideration. I have
found the Sovtek 6550 to be the most reliable tube ever made.
Obviously tube
choices are very subjective with everyone having their favorites. I have
personally become quite fond of some of the Chinese output tubes with
preferences leaning towards the Shuguang pieces for the warmer, more
seductive sound. If you are a newbie to tubes, all I
can do is recommend doing some reading on what others have found with various
tubes and try to come to some kind of conclusion as to what would be best for
you and your system. Every person is different as well as the components and
systems these tubes will be incorporated into.
Signal tube
types:
In this area, I
personally do not find the small Chinese signal tube variations (12AX7, 12AT7
& 12AU7) to me liking. I do however, find their 6SN7 & 6SL7 tubes to be a good
compliment with our amplifiers and this is what we run in our showroom. Below are a few quotes about their
characteristics...... you be the judge. I do like many of the NOS (new old
stock) pieces but do not like recommending these due to their high price tags
and some compatibility issues.
I would not like recommending
these high dollar pieces only to find out that the consumer does not like my
recommendation. I stick with current production units and leave the NOS
experimentation up to the consumer.
".......Chinese manufactured
Shuguang preamp tubes, specified by some of the top boutique amplifier
designers. Highly regarded for their bright sound, high gain and very ample
output......."
".........The Chinese 12AX7 is
popular with Marshall owners for it's gain and bite. It is currently
re-branded by both Ruby Tubes and Groove Tubes......"
".........This Chinese-made 6SN7
is used as original equipment in several amplifiers.
There are two versions available: one with a metal base and another with a
brown base......."
The 6SN7 is one Chinese input tube I do like and can live with in many
applications.
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