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Tubes & Valves Upgrades, Spares & General Comments |
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#1
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Preamp Tube Replacement
Finally after 12 years of 5 hours per day use of my Gold Lions tubes in my McIntosh C2300 had to be replaced! What prompted to even think about replacing them was that my system started to sound "blah"! I can't think of any other description to explain it. I purchased two set of tubes for the preamp. Gold Lions where one set and the other was Tung-Sol matched pairs. I installed the Gold Lions first and never looked backed.
Since the Tung-Sol where never used so I swapped them into the C2300. Interesting after about 20 hours of break in time. The Tung-Sol have a much more neutral but an open sound, where the Lions were bright but an open sound. I'm not saying one is better than the other just different. The subs are definitely more pronounce than I ever heard before. I'll order another set of Gold Lions and make another swap in 2031! Ken
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McIntosh C2300:Gold Lions 12AX7, McIntosh MC452, McIntosh D1100 , Bryston bdp-3, McIntosh MEN220 Linn Sondek 25th LP-12 upgraded, Encounter MK-3, Lyra Delos, Wegne Plinth, Ultra Origin DC motor, Cetech Subchassis Sonus Faber Cremona, (2) JL Audio F110 subs, Squeeze Server v7.9 Windows 2012 Server 25TB, Audio Metallurgy GA-0 XLR & RCA, Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable, PS Audio Power Plant Premier (2), WireWorld Silver Power Cables, Tascam DA3000 |
#2
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Ken.......This is a good testimonial for those who worry about tube longevity. Generally speaking, the 12AX7, 12AT7, and 12AU7 tubes last a long time. !0,000 hours is not uncommon. That's a lot of music listening time. Thanks for letting us know.
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Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#3
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It's always good to hear folks' experiences and impressions of tubes, which is a help to anyone getting into the hobby.
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Sources: Vinyl: Clearaudio Innovation Wood turntable with 9" Universal tonearm, Da Vinci V2 cartridge, Stillpoints SS & Stillpoints clamp, McIntosh MVP 901, Apple Mac mini via Benchmark DAC 1, Aurender N100C via Schiit Yggdrasil Control: McIntosh C1100, Mcintosh MX151 Power: Mcintosh MC2301s (front), McIntosh MC501 (center), Mcintosh MC402 (rear) Speakers: Sonus Faber Amati Futura (front and back), SF Vox center Power/connections: PS Audio Power Port receptacles, RGPC 400 pro (2) WireWorld interconnects and speaker cable |
#4
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@blacsno
Without a day off, that's better than 20,000 hours. Great longevity off a set of 12AX7s...... |
#5
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Thanks for yours impressions of tubes, I have Mcintosh C2200 with Gold Lions (I hear Dan recommended ) and sounds great, maybe I try the Tung-Sol. Thank you.
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#6
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Thanks
Good to know.
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