I have the Vincent 236 mk II. It came with 3 12ax7 tubes. I started to read about tube rolling which led me to brentjesse tubes and bought replacements. 12ax7 tubes from Mullard mc1 long and short plates, Amperex long plates, square plates, winged plates and bugle boys, and Telefunken smooth plates. All tubes are NOS from 1956- 1961, and one or two 1961-65 Mullard short plates. These NOS tubes creamed the stock Chinese - Russian tubes that came with it. I have about 20 12ax7(ecc83) tubes for preamp duty and phono stages in the future. I mix and match depending on mood and I am extremely thrilled about the sound. I John M.
Depending when I change the fir/ sdly filter on my Esoteric sa50 I change the pre amp section tubes as the filter in the sa50 is changed cause there are different sound algorithms from the sa50. In general I put a Telefunken eec83(12ax7) in the first spot- the window position above the power knob and the two rear tubes are usually matched Amperex bugleboy ecc83 or winged Amperex,no bugle, sometimes I use my longplate Mullards mc 1 matched pair. All the above destroyed stock Chinese tubes. My favorites Mullard mc1 longplate Amperex winged or BugleBoy Telefunken smooth plates are the most honest least colored classic tube I ever met. Hard to pick a favorite but the 3 above will make thw Vincent sound like an amp double the price. Thers is no placebo effect these tubes all have different sonic qualities Have fun, John M.
Because you haven't heard a god NOS, not all NOS are great. Byt yes, the Gold Lion was clealry nicer than the stock tube, but nt as nice as "some" of the NOS tubes. So you replaced the 6n1P-EV with a 12ax7? And its working ok? The amp is not meant to have anthing but a 6n1p-ev in it. How long have you had 12ax7's in it? Did you replace at the same time you eplaced the Gold Lion? Why Harma STR- vs. Other Gold Lios?
Also bear in mind from what I have read...the sv-236 used 3 12ax7's the sv-237MK did not. The 237 is an upgrade.
Is that directed at me Allan? If it is l may need to clarify... l have Gold Lion 12AX7 in the 'window position' and Harma STR 6NIP-EV in the positions behind them. l had the 236MK on home demo and agree the 237MK is a step up in sound.
Yes Andy. Sorry forgot to quote it. But yes. The gold lion is clearly better than the stock 12ax7 Chinese tube. A good NOS will give you a more natural sound. Highly recommend you swap out that Gold Lion and burn in a NOS. I am not familiar with the harma but the str seems to be a 12ax7 they do also have a 6n1p version What speakers do you have?
ProAc Tablette 10 Audionote ANK LX ( latest version) Both of which work superbly with the Vinny- listening to the CCR Box set now and the sound is ridiculously good. Another learning question, my system is sounding better by the day, and am wondering how long do the Gold Lion 12AX7. take to break in?... this is latest addition to the system. Also l have decided l am going to try the NOS Mullard- does this madness ever stop.
FYI - Although Watford does relabel some NOS tubes as Harma, if Watford does NOT mention “NOS” for a particular tube, it’s most likely just current production JJ.
Is this bad? Thanks Big D.... the 6NIP-EV vale does seem like a mystery..... Wish Gold Lion or there was NOS valve for this valve- ho hum.
I think JJ tubes are “okay”, however I’ve never been wowed the way I’ve been wowed by some NOS tubes (usually Blackburn UK Mullard). Just good to know the source of many new production Hanna tubes are JJ. 6N1P (third character is the numeral one, not the letter ‘I’) can sometimes be substituted with 6922, 7308, or 6DJ8 tubes. Best to check the the amp’s manufacturer.
I spoke with the manufacturer they recommended only 6N1p tubes. They have less of a sonic effect than the 12ax7. Tube sellers all said 6922 is the same but the manufacturer did not agree. Specs are different for voltage. Mullard’s are a good choice. All tubes will sound better when aged. 100 hours. Also, if buying NOS make sure the triodes are evenly matched or close to even in the tube. It will make a difference if they’re close. I like 1950’s Mullard’s which are pre-10m series. Usually dated mc1 Bxx or 161 Bxx the B means it’s Mullard made in the UK at the Blackburn plant. That’s what you want. So make sure it has that B otherwise it’s not a mullard.
It’s the start of an expensive habit! Lol. As each tube had different characteristics you can hear and tube rolling can be fun. Also you can find some used RFT tubes dirt cheap. I just paid $1 from a seller on ebay and they sounded pretty good. I clean the pins before I put them in the Vincent. I think he’s got a few left. They’re not sought after as they’re heavy in the mids and likely similar to your gold lions except they’re more open. Mullard's are very warm. Love them just prefer the valvo made bugle boys as they’re clean all around. RCA black plates have a lot of punch too. So depends on the speakers as you have bookshelves you may want a mullard or RCA black plate to punch up the mids and lows. Let us know how it goes.
The NOS purchase will not happen just yet as l am seriously happy with the system at the moment and that Gold Lion.
Don't read too much in to any of my posts...….Mullard in da house!! Mullard CV4004 M8137 in the window position-as much as the Gold Lion was an improvement over the Harma STR, then the Mullard is off the charts!
Just installed three new Golden Lion 12AX7s in my Vincent SV236 MK, only 8 hours into playing these and can already hear better bass and perhaps the stereo imaging is a little better. Anyway, already way better than the stock tubes, should have done this sooner!
With a bit of burn in even better. Well done that man. The stock valves really hold this amplifier back.
Just had a strange experience with the Vinny, changed the Audio k's to my ProAc Tablette 10, connected up, Vinny powered up …. no sound on any source, turned Vinny off then back on- nowt...…. left powered down, turned back on then music- was is all that about? Very odd.
lt just has- seems to be when l turn the amp off- then turn it back on after an hour or so..... only this time l hear a sizzling like sound..however l have taken the lid off the amp to investigate.... turned on amp and everything is ok.... no noise just lovely music.... could this be static? Or even one of the valves going wonky? May plug the amp straight in to the wall socket. ( At the moment it runs off an Titan Audio extension block.)
