Ok, the Amperexes were removed and I put the Mullards in both the line stage and MM inputs. They have 3 hours on them (I'll stop counting once I get past 25 hours, as usual). I listened a bit to NPR, and used my usual video test discs, The Avengers BD and Yes: Live at Montreaux DVD.
Preliminary impressions out of the box: the Amperexes will not see the inside of the 2300 again, except as a last resort. Good as the Amperexes are, the Mullards, to my ears, blow them away. The Mullards have more gain, and play louder at the same volume. The sound is richer and fuller, and the low end is powerful. The Mullards are more dynamic, a bit warmer, and less "polite." They're good HT tubes, I'd say. I might even consider turning down the bass a little.
I plan to move on to see if this trend continues with LPs, LDs, and CDs next. The Mullards, like their predecessors, will get at least a month in the 2300 before any final decisions are made, but at this point I'd leave them in place.
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SOTA, Grado, SME, Van den Hul, Gingko turntable setup; Pioneer Elite LD, BDP; Sony OLED TV; Magnum Dynalab tuner, antenna; MIT S-video cable; Pangea HDMI cables; DVDO video processor; McIntosh SACD, preamp, power amps; Telefunken Black Diamond preamp tubes; Kimber IC; Transparent IC, PC, SC; Mirage speakers; PS Audio, Shunyata PC; Audio Additives RCA caps; Furman power conditioning; Sanus: racks
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