TJ Full Music tubes. Are really so good?

That's not the one who I have had any experience with. And it's not clear from your remark whether that was a recommendation or a warning about these guys.

 

Warning. I have 3 Raytheon 12AU7 which state "Made In England" but these are really Eastern Germany RFT 12AU7's. I bought from them 2 pairs of NOS RCA 5751 with black plates which were noisy and got a lot of hum out of them, their printing was INMACULATE. It turned out they were actual RCA 5751,they were reprinted with enamel-like painting and a friend of mine who tested them on two different tube testers didn't get conclusive results about them being really NOS.

 

I was bored this afternoon so I thought about spending some time doing some tube rolling on my EAR 834 "clone" Phono preamps. To understand what I did I need to explain you briefly how it works. The EAR 834 Phono preamp uses 3 tubes and each of them are on the signal path of both left and right channels. V1 tube does around 78% of amping, V2 tube does the remaining 25% of amp plus it's on the circuit of RIAA de-eq, and the V3 tube is used as a "buffer" tube on a cathode follower configuration. All need to be 12AX7 tubes as stated by the manufacturer and the designer (Tom de Paravicini or something like that?) of the Phono preamp, but some users,and I'm one of them, like to use a 12AU7 tube as a V3 "buffer tube" as it has a lower impedance output (and I think it has a higher current output) which is the goal of a "buffer tube". Anyway,I like it more with a 12AU7 as a V3 than with a 12AX7.
I have a pair of NOS Hitachi tubes from the 1960's which sound is very detailed but also bright for my taste. I also have a pair of new production Gold Lion 12AX7 that I don't know why sound dull and too shy on highs on the EAR 834 "clone". I also have several NOS 12AU7 from several brands.
I put one of the Gold Lion 12AX7 on the V1 position, one of the bright Hitachi 12AX7 on the V2 position, and a RFT 12AU7 as a V3 "buffer" tube.
I know suspected that one dull and highs shy tube along with a bright sounding tube would/will compensate one for the other, but I never thought I'd get such a killer combination with this level of sinergy, detail and lively sound without being bright or agressive. This combination stays until I receive the pair of TJ Full Music 12AX7 I ordered almost two weeks ago.

 

Im going to grab one of these clones, just haven't done so yet. Glad to hear you're getting good things out of it.

 

The EAR 834 "clones" Phono preamps sound great for the money. You don't need to go for the ones that copy the case of the real EAR 834, Mine only copies the circuit board, it's encased on a generic aluminum case which is built like a tank. A friend of mine has the real EAR 834P phono preamp and one day we put them and tested their sound side by side and as hard as it is to believe, with good tubes (we used two broken in NOS Matsushita 12AX7A relabeled as Canadian General Electric and one NOS Matsushita 12AU7 relabeled as Canadian General Electric on each one) they sound almost identical.
I paid 250 € for it plus 60 € on Import Fees but I'm very happy with it as it sounds great and it's a real tube Phono preamp unlike Project "tube" Phono box that do all the job with solid state components and only use two 12AX7 tubes as "buffer tubes" on a cathode follower configuration, it's like getting a cheaper Project solid state Phono preamp and adding a Yaqin SD-CD3 "tube Buffer" or a Musical Fidelity X-10D.
If you get one piece of advice, if you get an EAR 834 "clone" and want to go the NOS tube route, inexpensive NOS Matsushita 12AX7/12AU7 work great with it, they're easy to get on Ebay and use to be quite cheap and they sure will last longer than any current production tubes. I'm getting a pair of TJ Full Music 12AX7 as I'm very very curious about them and as I'm opened minded there's a chance they sound better than any NOS tubes I have, and I have quite some 12AX7/12AU7 tubes. The best ones I've come by for this EAR 834 "clone"? I bought them all for dirty little money from the same seller, two Hit Ray (a joint venture on the 60's between Hitachi and Raytheon, tubes are made in Japan and have the Hitachi logo) 12AX7A and one Hit Ray 12AU7, with these my EAR "clone" shines, it gives very detailed, smooth and warm sound with deep and controlled bas and the right amount for my taste of "sweetness". I got 4 Hit Ray 12AX7A and two Hit Ray 12AU7 NOS and in their original boxes for 75 $ includding shipping to Spain. Downside, I got them around a year ago, I'm always looking for more but I've never seen them again, either NOS or used so they seem quite hard to find.

 

Oh yes I'm well aware of the clones you mean on eBay. Those are what I meant as well. Perhaps I'll order one tonight. Thanks for the info!

 

Get it, it won't disappoint you.

 

I received the TJ Full Music 12AX7 tubes today. By the outside they look quite generic, the boxes look like the standard thing cardboard but the good stuff is inside. The first thing that catches atention about them is that they are a bit heavier than the average 12AX7 tube, NOS or new production. They have golden pins, a bit thin for my taste and short by wide plates. When the device they're on, in my case a Phono preamp, is switched on, the Ful Music flash and then get their normal lightning, which is much higher than any new production tubes and even some NOS.
I let them warm up for a couple of hours and then listened to 3 of my well known records, Van Halen S/T Chris Bellman remastering from 2015, Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Columbia House pressing (I think Columbia House is the only one that released this album on LP in the US, not even Warner Bros. Records) and the Return Of The Jedi Soundtrack original LP pressing with Masterdisk and HW (Howie Weinberg I think) on deadwax. Their sound is nothing but outstanding.
I have listened to more records since I got them this morning and they only have around 6 hours of use and with all the records I listened to with the TJ Full Music I got the same impression, they sound amazing, they're very very detailed, they really shine with drums and string isntruments ranging from electric guitar to violins or Violas. They not only look "old school", they also sound old school, but let's see as they break in how their sound changes, and I hope their life expan is old school also.
They don't look made by Shuguang at all and they don't sound like Shuguang made tubes either. I's said many times here that I only use NOS Japanese tubes, that I love Hitachi and Matsushita 12AX7/12AU7 tubes, but the TJ Full Music are staying in unless when broken in they change for the worse,which I doubt. I've also said many times that I own a pair of matched Psvane 12AX7 Mk II tubes that come in a nice box and that I could live with them 'though I much prefer my Hitachi/Hit Ray and Matsushitas, well, the Psvane are not competition for the TJ Full Music 12AX7.

 

Are TJ Full Music tubes the same as Sophia Electric?

 

They do sound good. I hope they last for you.

 

I believe they're made in the same factory. The Sophias are the ones that test the best and therefore are sold at a premium price.

There's more info available online but that's what I remember reading.

 

Thank you. I hope so too as I like how they sound but don't have much money to spend on tubes, and I already have quite some 12AX7 and 12AU tubes, so may that I think I'm more than set for all my life.

 

Sounds good. I still have one good one, but had issues.

 

I was looking a bit at the TJ Full Music 12AX7 tubes, in fact I've had a couple matched pairs in my ebay basket for awhile now, but have been reluctant to pull the trigger. The price is OK at about $57 shipped per matched pair, but not sure. I wanted to have a baseline set of new tubes for my Conrad Johnson Premier 15 phono preamp, which uses six 12AX7 and two 6GK5. I'm currently running old tubes and love the sound, but wanted a backup set to compare with. The input stage uses four 12AX7 tubes, two per channel, so a set of four sections paralleled on each channel for low noise (53dB gain), then passive EQ, and then another set of one 12AX7 tube per side with paralleled sections, then the 6gK5 output. No feedback.

I'll probably just contact one of the bigger tube vendors and see what they suggest in readily available new or used tubes, I have a hard time picking what I want to try, so many choices out there. All suggestions welcome and appreciated...

 

I think I got my TJ Full Musics from the same seller, only that I asked for a discount and I only bought a pair. Contact him and tell him you're willing to buy six of his tubes but that you need a discount, as we say in Spain "sometimes you gotta cry to get something cheaper or a discount" (cry=beg or being extra humble), something like "I need six 12AX7 tubes and good ones, I'd heard great things about these but I can not afford the six of them at this price..."
I've spent another day with them and I really love them, they're so detailed and so devoided of agresiveness, they're very easy on the ears and really invite to listen to music.

 

Thanks for the feedback, but I'm not gonna buy all 6, just the two pair for the input section if I give them a try. Did you find them to be quiet in your 834 clone? Did you use them in your input stage? Which clone do you have, is it the one with the same form factor and chassis layout? There looks to be a few varieties now, with some of them laid out in a full size chassis with better power isolation.

 

I own the latter with the full aluminium chasis and the toroidal transformer enclosed in a metal case, not the one that imitates both the inside and the outside of the real EAR 834P. The TJ Full music on my EAR 834 "clone" are dead quiet.

 

I have used the TJ 12AX7 in some guitar amps, and really liked the sound. More "hi-fi" without being sterile. They removed some of the boxiness and congested quality a lot of guitar amps can have, but still sounded round and rich. One TJ went highly microphonic on me after a couple of years of intermittent use, but guitar amps get knocked around quite a bit.

 

I really like the TJ 12AX7 in the right application. They had a big soundstage and were very easy to listen to but the two pair I owned were WAY too noisy to put in a phono stage. I used them in the input section on a Rogue 88 and they were very happy there.

 

Their triode power tubes are good, but 12AX7s are better served buying NOS.

 

Yup.

 

They're dead quiet on my EAR 834 "clone" Phono preamp,which by the way is very picky about tube matching. They sound amazing, I don't get tired of listenning to them.

 

I kind of lost touch with vintage Mullard 12AX7 long plates until now. As much as I like the RCA 12AX7 black plate I have to give the edge to the Mullard in my present amp. The RCA are a little warmer, the Mullard performs better on complex music and is a little more open. I just bought 4 more Mullard.