Opinions on tubes for my Hattor

Randy Myers

Randy Myers

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 7, 2015
Messages
6,085
Location
Kansas
I just added the Tube Active Stage to my Hattor passive pre-amplifier. It uses two 12au7 tubes from JAN Phillips. Any suggestions if I wanted to get better tubes? Will it be a noticeable improvement? I am a fan of Gold Lion tubes, would these ge a good choice or better to find a NOS tube?

Thanks for the opinions.
 
Randy Myers said:
I just added the Tube Active Stage to my Hattor passive pre-amplifier. It uses two 12au7 tubes from JAN Phillips. Any suggestions if I wanted to get better tubes? Will it be a noticeable improvement? I am a fan of Gold Lion tubes, would these ge a good choice or better to find a NOS tube?

Thanks for the opinions.
Click to expand...

NOS Mullards. :audiophile: Then there is the rest. There will be talks of 1950’s Amperex (Holland), there will be Telefunken, Bugle Boy, mentioned but Mullard are the most musical and balanced top to bottom with a glorious midrange. With purchasing NOS from unknown sources, you never really know what you are getting though. Gold Lion is a fine tube if you can’t or don’t want to hunt for them.
 
TheOctopus said:
NOS Mullards. :audiophile: Then there is the rest. There will be talks of 1950’s Amperex (Holland), there will be Telefunken, Bugle Boy, mentioned but Mullard are the most musical and balanced top to bottom with a glorious midrange. With purchasing NOS from unknown sources, you never really know what you are getting though. Gold Lion is a fine tube if you can’t or don’t want to hunt for them.
Click to expand...

I used to collect 12AU7 tubes and I still have my tube caddy which has lots of 12AU7 tubes both NOS and slightly used. I managed to acquire some NOS Mullard CV4003 tubes which are really cool. They are the military grade version of the 12AU7. I love the way they are packaged with the heavy paper and the pin protector. I have the rest of the usual suspects too. Telefunken, Amperex Bugle Boys, etc. One of my personal favorite 12AU7 tubes is the RCA clear top version.
 
Thanks for the input. Doing a little research I do see several mentions of RCA clear tops. If I am recalling correct they were not crazy expensive either. Upscale has some Brimar NOS tubes that he is promoting as the latest find also.

I know Gold Lions are a safe bet also. Every one of these I have previous tried in various pieces I thought were good.

Do you believe that these would be an improvement over the JAN Phillips that Arek included with the Tube Stage? He also has a spring loaded cap over the tubes. It appears that most of these are the same size so should work with these caps also. Do you concur?
 
Are you talking about real Gold Lion tubes or Sovtek Gold Lion tubes?
 
The current manufactured ones (Genalex, which are manufactured by Sovtek, right?), not NOS. Not sure I have ever seen Gold Lion NOS tubes :).
 
CPP said:
So what are you not liking about the tubes you have,
Click to expand...

Actually so far they sound good. Just wondering if an upgrade better tube would make the active stage even better :).

I am actually listening to the pre-amp in passive mode now which I think is every good for low level listening.
 
The tubes you are talking about are Sovtek made in Russia. I have never heard their version of the 12AU7. The RCA clear tops used to be a steal. I don’t know what NOS prices are bringing now days.
 
Just checked on EBay. $54.99 for a matched pair NOS.
 
I am a noob with tube stuff. Yes I have dipped my toes in before with the Audio Mirror and other amps, and an Audio Research hybrid pre and a couple others, but the tube world is pretty open so I do try to learn when I can :). I have definitely had better experiences with the tube pre-amplifiers than amplifiers for sure.

A quick question if you guys don't mind. What is the advantage, or is there one to the spring loaded caps that cover the tubes. These are on the tubes in this active stage. Is it better to leave them on or take them off? I assume they are not just for shipping, or are they?

Arek has the top on the unit, which is just a nice solid piece of aluminum that is held on with four screws. I assume it probably makes no difference if it is on or off. In my rack it would not have any exposure or risk with the top off. Would it be better for cooling to have the top off? I know on his website he always shows the piece with the top off, but I assume this is mainly to illustrate what is inside.

Thanks again for the input!
 
I’m not sure what you are talking about with the spring loaded caps. Can you take a picture? As for the top cover, is it ventilated? If it is, I wouldn’t worry about taking it off. A pair of 12AU7s aren’t going to be generating a bunch of heat.
 
mep said:
I’m not sure what you are talking about with the spring loaded caps. Can you take a picture? As for the top cover, is it ventilated? If it is, I wouldn’t worry about taking it off. A pair of 12AU7s aren’t going to be generating a bunch of heat.
Click to expand...

It is just a solid top.

Researching a little on the caps (I'm sure my term is wrong) it appears as if they are really mainly for restraining the tubes. Probably does not hurt on or off, but I certainly could see how these might be important for shipping.

Here is a photo off of Hattor's website, easier than taking cover off to get a photo :D:
tube_07.jpg
 
Those are tube shields to reduce hum. If the designers felt they needed them, I would certainly use them.
 
They are both shields, as MEP stated, but are also intended to reduce microphonics.
Rolling tubes allows you to "color" the sound to your liking. (within limits)
The prices of 12ZU7's are not crazy and therefore you might benefit from trying several different pairs.
You can always resell those that don't make the grade.
For a clean sound, it's hard to beat 7316's, however they are pricey.
A pair of RCA's and a pair of GL"s should do you well.
Have fun with it.
 
Telefunken smooth plates will get you a fabulous midrange at the expense of losing a bit of high frequency extension. Amperex Bugal Boys will get you strong bass and an extended top end. Good luck.
 
Randy

What are the date codes on those military Philips tubes as they may be better than you think. Philips owned multiple tube factories in the US and EU and produced tubes under various names depending on their country of origin. If it came from one of their factories then the date of build and the factory code are more important than the brand name on the tube.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top