Maybe 10-12 hours. i like it. very quiet, musical, great instrument separation. Not too bright, great mids and punching bass.
It's a fun tube. Here is a fun read... Secrets of the Tube Alchemists - Effectrode As others have mentioned Brent Jessee BRENT JESSEE RECORDING HOMEPAGE has a huge selection of tubes and great warranty I purchased a matched pair early 50's BRIMAR long black plate 12AX7...I'm on a BRIMAR kick at the moment. The reason I recommended upscale is his grading system noise Grading & Matching . Both suppliers are trusted sources for high quality vacuum tubes.
But isn't the tube in the Vincent just an output buffer added to their solid state (opamp) preamp? I'm not sure the gain would really matter much as a buffer, but I guess it depends a bit on the circuit, I haven't seen a schematic. Maybe the output impedance would be affected. Just me, but if I was buying expensive NOS tubes to roll, I'd probably start with a full tube preamp. But of course it would quickly get a lot more expensive since there would be 2-3 (or more, 8 in my case) tubes to buy, so maybe a hybrid is the best route
I have to admit I haven't taken a peek at the schematics of the 701 but what I know for sure is that I noticed a significant gain increase when I switched out the 12AU7 with the 12AX7 using the same reference volume level on my amp (i.e. volume set at 40%). I would love to have an all tube preamp but I have a mortgage to pay.
That's interesting, so do you like the sound better with the 12AX7? Did you need more gain? I think they use the 12AU7 because it is pretty much designed for a low gain cathode follower type output buffer stage, so I just assume that is what they are using it for. There are some Chi-Fi all tube phono preamps for pretty cheap but I don't know how they sound. Some are based on the EAR-834 circuit, so probably sound good. Others are maybe a little more original, like the compact Nobsound Little Bear T11 for under $200 with 4 tubes and 48dB gain, kind of hard to believe for the price, I think there's a few happy users around here...
Oh for sure. The 12AX7 sounds much better....especially with an MC cartridge. I found it amazing how much more the subtlety of say, acoustic guitars in Heart's "Love Alive" came out with the Mullard 12AX7. I didn't notice it so much with an RCA 12AU7 gray plate. Its really interesting how a 12AX7 sounds great in the PHO 701 but then in various other preamps, a 12AU7 sounds better. I guess you can say that every phono stage has its own "personality". That's what makes tube rolling fun!
Nobsound actually builds some nice entry level gear that is well built for the money.Their stuff is cheap enough that for the prices the charge and what they deliver for the price, buying their stuff really is not a risk.
I'm thinking the tube should be about there since your above reply. I swapped out the Brimar CV4003 and the Tungsram back in today it's been a while since I heard it forgot how magical it can be.
Apologies for digging up this older topic but... I have the Vincent PHO-701 PreAmp and the Vincent SV-237MK Amp. The 701 uses a single 12AU7 and the 237 uses a single 12AX7 and (2) 6N1P-EV tubes. So, if I want to start tube rolling a bit - where do I start - PreAmp, Amp, Both?? Thanks in advance for the advice...
Newbie here - first post, l myself own the 237MK and have rolled tubes on the amp, l went for 3x Harma STR and these were around £14 a pop and this definitely lifted sound quality, however my next upgrade will be the Gold Lion 12AX7, which is supposed to work very well in The Vincent.
For amp Call Jesse for recommendation 6N1P-EV = 6DJ8 Tubes From Brent Jessee Recording Tungsram 12AX7 / ECC83 For 701 Tungsram ECC82 / 12AU7
I just went down this rabbit hole and ordered a Vincent PHO 701 today. I am also looking at Jesse's 12AU7s/
I've had my PHO 701 for about 14 months and still using the stock tube. I'm ready to replace it. Was considering the Brimar CV4003 but just noticed your post re: the Tungsram. Do you prefer the Tungsram over the Brimar? How would you describe the overall difference between the two? And what improvements should I expect with either over the stock tube? Edit: I just realized the post I quoted was from January 2019 and Upscale Audio no longer has the Tunsgram tubes.
I think Jesse has a couple Tunsgram in 12au7, under other European brands. Go here 12AU7 Tubes in Stock and read. He has some descriptions near the top, after the lists of the tube number classes. It approximates what the country/brand tubes do to the sound In lots of cases most brands in the same country or region are similar to replicate a regional preference. So Siemens sound like Telefunken, Brimars sound like Mullard, Amperex sound like Mazda, etc. ------------------ I am also curious how much break in these need. I see lots of stuff talking about 30 hours plus. So it sounds like at least that much before rolling to get a good idea. Also is it straight forward opening the 701 to swap tubes?
I love my Vincent 801 phono stage the power supply is seperate component I switched 12AU7 for old RCA version USA oh switches MC or MM I have a VPI TT scout jr,
I bought a 701 back in October. I rolled in a different tube almost immediately. Mainly cause I have a stash of 12AU7. The fact a 701 uses a 12AU helped big time in my decesion to buy it. I tried a few older US tubes along with Telefunken, Bugle Boy, and Mullard in mine and settled on a Raytheon blackplate branded Baldwin. Sounds great! I like it just a little better that my RCA clear top. All of them I tried was an improvement over stock. Just more soundstage, separation, and detail. The clear top RCA and the Bugle Boy were a little on the brigter side. The Mullard, Sylvania, and Tele were a little warmer. The only one I didn't like was a GE. I have a few other brands I have not tried just yet. The Raytheon just sounds so good I am not ready to roll anymore just yet. And rolling in this is not so simple as in my Bellari. Really though I think 20 USD for a nice RCA will do just fine. Get one now and you can have more time to ask around about the other more exotic and costly tubes.
Did you read that article that claimed if you use a Pangea power cable on your PHO8, the bass will improve? I did but got a cheaper shielded power cable for my PHO8 and yes, the bass did improve.....mainly in depth rather than becoming lower but it was worth it.
I saw mention of Pangea here but need to research it more here. I saw it somewhere else and checked out Amazon and read reviews I saw the prices. I read that they were stiff as hell and got really annoyed. How about some freaking 90s built in. Still dwelling on it but I am intrigued and seriously considering it.
I'm new to tubes and also just ordered a pho 701 yesterday. I'm glad I only have to worry about the aesthetics of a single tube as the variety is overwhelming. This thread in particular has been informative, thank you. However, I'm really trying to boil down the differences across the 3 types of tubes, au, ax and at. Any guidance you can offer me?
Yes, don't swap them, they are different tube types. They are pin compatible, but have different gains. You can use different tube manufactures of the 12AX7 and such but don't interchange a AX for an AU or an AX.
