Telefunkin

Petro85

Petro85

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Well I been holding onto this matched quad of telefunkin nos tubes for a couple weeks now. Finally I couldn't take it any more and opened up my hovland. As I was pulling out the old tubes I realized they were all different brands. And even though the guy who sold it to me told me that a 12at7 in the phono stage is way better than the 12au7, there was the original 12au7 in there. So I replaced all 4 12ax7's and added new 12at7's to the 2 remaining spots.
I've mentioned before that the highs from this pre were better than I've ever had. Now they are soaring and luscious. Omg!!!!
So I busted out all my "go to " test albums
Joni - blue and ladies from the canyon
Maria Muldaur
E.c unplugged
Ella and Louie
Brubeck time out
Mac rumors and self titled
Springsteen greetings from Asbury park
I'm happy to report everything is wonderful here right now.these tubes made an enourmous difference. And I don't even think they need breakin or maybe they will get better!!!!!
I've always been a Mullard guy,I bought the telefunkins to try something different. I'm glad I did!!! Now I need to pick up some nos at7's cause the ones I used are sylvanias. And I think old. Got em as extras with the snappers.
 
Petro85 said:
Well I been holding onto this matched quad of telefunkin nos tubes for a couple weeks now. Finally I couldn't take it any more and opened up my hovland. As I was pulling out the old tubes I realized they were all different brands. And even though the guy who sold it to me told me that a 12at7 in the phono stage is way better than the 12au7, there was the original 12au7 in there. So I replaced all 4 12ax7's and added new 12at7's to the 2 remaining spots.
I've mentioned before that the highs from this pre were better than I've ever had. Now they are soaring and luscious. Omg!!!!
So I busted out all my "go to " test albums
Joni - blue and ladies from the canyon
Maria Muldaur
E.c unplugged
Ella and Louie
Brubeck time out
Mac rumors and self titled
Springsteen greetings from Asbury park
I'm happy to report everything is wonderful here right now.these tubes made an enourmous difference. And I don't even think they need breakin or maybe they will get better!!!!!
I've always been a Mullard guy,I bought the telefunkins to try something different. I'm glad I did!!! Now I need to pick up some nos at7's cause the ones I used are sylvanias. And I think old. Got em as extras with the snappers.
Click to expand...

Steve - that is one of the sheer beauty of tube amps. Roll some tubes and get a completely different sound. They are like amps within amps! Lots of fun! Glad it worked well for you. If you want to talk tubes - the best guy around is Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio.
 
It's amazing what new tubes can do for an amp. Sure each type of tube is supposed to last "X" amount of hours but why wait until they deteriorate so bad that it's actually noticeable. It's nice having extra sets of tubes so you can put new ones in to see how bad the "regular ones" have gotten.

Those Telefunken 12AX7's are special for sure though...
 
YES!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with all said above especially tubes rule!!!!!!!
Now with that said my a/c in this heat with a them tubes and my vaulted uninsulated ceiling. My house is way too hot!!!!!!
 
ok i installed these played a few albums and left for the weekend to go watch my sisters dogs. yeay!!! not so fun.
came back this morning and warmed them up for an hour and it seemed they were a little bright
even though the overall sound was better. now im realizing that its not brightness anymore but turning into just louder than im used to. all my music i listen to is within 3 clicks of my volume knob and these tubes are making everything a little louder than those same volume spots with the old tubes. so turning it down a couple clicks and it is really starting to breakin quickly and sound great. each song is better and better.
just a quick fyi, didnt know tubes could change the volume like that.
 
I just recently got into the world of Tele Funky Ones too and they are pretty good. Just have the 12ax7 - 12at7 - ecc801s and 5965 (long plate 12at7) and like those the best with the TS KT120's. The 5965 is pretty close to the Mullard CV 4024's. For me the 12at7 and ecc801s makes the KT120's too bright for my taste.
 
The 12AT7 has more gain then the 12AU7 as long as the current draw isn't to much for the 12AT7 it should be ok but if you start to here distortion[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif] then I go back to the 12AU7[/FONT]
 
A word of caution


If the Hovland calls for 12AU7 in that spot, DO NOT use 12AT7's. You will damage your unit. In order

12AX7 - 100%

12AX7 - 5751 - about 90% of 12AX7

12AT7 - 60%

12AY7 - 45%

12AY7 - 41%

12AU7 - 20%

So you see, a 12AU7 is about 1/3 the gain of a 12AT7...using it in place of a 12AU7 is BAD. The reverse is okay because you will get less gain but no harm

as someone else states
The 12AT7 with a mu factor of 60 can be used as a replacement for a 12AX7 with a mu of 100. Probably too high for a 12AU7 with a mu factor of 19 though
 
More info

Its a mixed set as per the below

"While its design incorporates many custom parts, the heart of the HP-100—the tubes—are readily available, relatively inexpensive Sovteks. (Hovland requests that you not try to improve on them with vintage tubes or other brands.) The 14dB-gain line section uses a pair of 12AX7s and one 12AU7; the 46dB moving-magnet phono section, a pair of 12AX7s and one 12AT7. Tube life is said to be 2500 hours; matched replacement sets are available from Hovland"

The tube type is correct but I disagree on the Sovtek, do not replace part. Specs on tubes in terms of voltage and gain remain equal...its the build that tailors the sounds...thus a Telefunken will sound much better than the Sovteks.

The real point is one stage uses a 12AU7 and the other uses a 12AT7 for different gain purposes
 
before when I had the Mcintosh 60th C22 and and the 75 mono, on the Preamp ECC83 I tried telefunken, Mullard 10M, Bugle, Tesla, Gl and others, to find out at the end that the best aound for the Line was the new GL and for the phono was the telefunken, on the amps GL and power tubes was Shuguan Treasure
 
iamhifi said:
before when I had the Mcintosh 60th C22 and and the 75 mono, on the Preamp ECC83 I tried telefunken, Mullard 10M, Bugle, Tesla, Gl and others, to find out at the end that the best aound for the Line was the new GL and for the phono was the telefunken, on the amps GL and power tubes was Shuguan Treasure
Click to expand...

Hi iamhifi, Thanks for that. Two questions: 1) who is GL? cannot think of the tube manufacturer; 2) how do you like the Isoclean Transformer 3030G...presume this is a power conditioner? What did you compare it to? Thanks for any guidance! (Great system!!!)
 
Hey Joe - what tubes are you using/will you be using in your GAT? FWIW, I have found the stock EH tube to either be noisy or to get noisy surprisingly quickly. I was fortunate to get a pair of super-quiet Mullards and a very quiet, but not so long lasting pair of Amperex US PQ 6922s. While the 'voice' differences between the tubes on the GAT is very noticeable...it becomes far less noticeable (to the point where I just care about how quiet they are) when I put EAT Tube dampers on. Again, isolation under and on top makes a big difference, I think you'll find a few other GAT owners have found the same.
 
I should have the GAT/ART next weekend (fingers crossed). In my first GAT, I was using Gold Lion tubes. I think I may have some others in my stash. I never had a problem with noisy tubes in the GAT. If I remember correctly, I replaced the stock tubes with the GLs sometime after break in and never looked back. I may have some tubes in my stash for the GAT but will have to look. I think Ray, my original GATs owner, still uses GLs.
 
I have a pair of Gold Lion 12AU7 I use in my first tube pre a long time of go I found them to be to bright for my taste. I found the Mullard to be my favorite
of the 12AU7.
 
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