Jan Phillips 12AU7 upgrade

D

Dizzie

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 14, 2013
Messages
1,297
Location
Sacramento
My VAC Essence 80iQ monoblocks shipped with Jan Phillips 12AU7s. I would appreciate suggestions for upgrades that won't break the bank. New production preferred since I am not a tube aficionado. I don't want to chase some exotic and rare tube where the best ones were made Wednesday afternoon. ;) I need 4 tubes. They are paired with KT88s.
 
Dizzie said:
My VAC Essence 80iQ monoblocks shipped with Jan Phillips 12AU7s. I would appreciate suggestions for upgrades that won't break the bank. New production preferred since I am not a tube aficionado. I don't want to chase some exotic and rare tube where the best ones were made Wednesday afternoon. ;) I need 4 tubes. They are paired with KT88s.
Click to expand...

If you'd like new production - the best new production tubes I've tested for my tastes that aren't expensive are the Psvane Horizon.

A noticeable improvement from their past tubes.
 
Dizzie said:
My VAC Essence 80iQ monoblocks shipped with Jan Phillips 12AU7s. I would appreciate suggestions for upgrades that won't break the bank. New production preferred since I am not a tube aficionado. I don't want to chase some exotic and rare tube where the best ones were made Wednesday afternoon. ;) I need 4 tubes. They are paired with KT88s.
Click to expand...

The best 12AU7s weren't made last Wednesday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JDC
The new Gold Lions made in Russia sound nice, but I haven't used them much as I haven't used up all of my old American & European NOS 12AU7s yet. (That'll be a sad day). I may be crazy or have unique ears, heck I guess we all do, but lately I'm loving the NOS GE 6189s (12AU7s). They're not super expensive, they seem to do everything right to my ears. Tube Depot has them I think.
 
JDC said:
The new Gold Lions made in Russia sound nice, but I haven't used them much as I haven't used up all of my old American & European NOS 12AU7s yet. (That'll be a sad day). I may be crazy or have unique ears, heck I guess we all do, but lately I'm loving the NOS GE 6189s (12AU7s). They're not super expensive, they seem to do everything right to my ears. Tube Depot has them I think.
Click to expand...

I have a fairly good stash of 12AU7s in my tube caddy. One of my favorite U.S. made 12AU7 tubes is the RCA Cleartop.
 
IMO you already have the upgrade. The JAN Philips 6189W variant, (also 12AU7WA) has better linearity and lower noise than most other 12AU7’s regardless of manufacturer or vintage. They are not crazy expensive and are readily available in OEM boxes.

For new tubes certainly try the Russian made Gold Lion re-issues. But it will pay to try different NOS tubes if you are inclined. These tubes are low gain and the amp designer can’t use a lot of negative feedback in the design. This means that the tube characteristics will be very audible.

I’m curious, apart from what they ship the amp with, does VAC have any recommendations?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top