Preamp Deal of the Century

Hi guys, the Philips Mini Watt GZ34 tube that Jpms told us about earlier is the best rectifer that I have tried in my Syrah. I have been using a Bendix Redbank 6106, but compared to the mini watt the 6106 sounds kind of "dark". The philips tube has more top end energy. It is not bright mind you, but it gives cymbals more shimmer. The bass may not be as deep, but it has better definition than any rectifier that I have tried. This is a winner. Thanks Juan.

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I am satisfied with what I have done on the Line Stage side ( Mullard EL 37 - Philips Miniwatt / Mullard GZ 34 Miniwatt and Tungsol Black Glass Round Plate 6sn7) for my Cortese and want to do the best I can with the tubes for the phono stage side before my first TT (in twenty five years) arrives in mid to late June.

I would love to hear your favorite complement of tubes for the phono stage on either the Syrah or Cortese. I will be receiving a Teres 340 and will match it with a Graham 2.2 and Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum and am clueless on what to do on the tube side.

Musicality and an emotive sound are my priorities. I would hope for some good detail and solid bass in that order, but not at the expense of the musicality.

I mostly listen to classical (orchestral, chamber music and concertos) , female jazz vocalist and some occasional classic rock.
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Any help would be greatly appreciated from our Cognoscenti.
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Larry,

I can tell you one thing: If you have the 6c45 tube, you're stuck with it. I tried the 5842's, and they don't work. I need to research tube specs to find something that I can sub for the Russian tube.

On the other hand, if I keep the gain switch on low I have all of the volume I need (which can sometimes be quite a bit) with no tube noise at all. They get a little microphonic with the gain set to high at higher lisening levels.

I think it is a very good tube, but I wish I had some more choices. It is fun using tubes as "tone controls" and different sounds. I had all kinds of fun when I was playing around with the 12ax7's in the Audio Note. I'll keep looking, and let you know....

Cello - if you're Cortese is like mine, it uses E180F (6688)and 6922 tubes for the phono section.

The stock Cortese tubes are actually pretty good compared to the expensive NOS variety. The differences in sound resulting from changes in phono tubes is less than the differences produced by the line stage tubes.

I've tried quite a few and I think the Telefunken CCa's in the 6922 position are (so far) the best for me. I use Mullard E180F's I picked up for 10 bucks on Ebay and they're okay... not much different than the stock tubes.

hope this helps.

I hope that you receive yours too. It is simply amazing! People who posted their positive experiences here are right on the money! You will forget the period spent waiting once you hear the preamp out of the box!

Very special indeed! Currently, I am using the ff(pictures in my system link).

Tungsol 5881's
RCA Red Base 5692
Sovtek 5AR4 (Mullard metal base in transit already!)
Tungsol 6C4 and Amperex BB 6DJ8 for phono.

I am not worthy to own this preamp IMHO!

cheers