12AU7 Genalex or Psvane for Cayin Hybrid Integrated H80A


In my search, I haven't found much that directly compares Genalex to Psvane 12AU7 recently. So far, I have had the Cayin OEM, Electro Harmonix, & Genalex, and my favorite is Genalex - quieter, smoother & more dynamic than the previous two.

I am now interested in trying Psvane purely out of curiosity & because it is within my budget for now. Not really interested in spending much more.

BTW, if you require system details, look for my Gallery at US Audio Mart site under member name ejc_xrx.

Thanks in advance for any input.
ericjcabrera
ericjcabrera ,

if you want a warmer sound then try out a set of the Shuguang Nature sound tubes.

They have a lot of that Mullard warm midrange, and not at all a typical chinese tube. Very easy to listen to all day long.

Both PSVANE and Shuguang reverse engineered the great tubes out of Europe. determine what metalurgy was used on the construction of the tube and tried to re create those highly sough after valves.

For 30 bucks a pop you can't go wrong if you like that Mullard sound,.



Hi Eric,

My current amp is a Cayin CS-100a and I have the 12au7 Psvane and I'm very happy with it. Other 12au7 tubes I have and tried are: Genalex, NOS Tungsol, NOS Sylvania but somehow I keep going back to the Psvanes. The NOS tungsol are very good if you like a warm sounding 12au7.

I completely agree with initforthemusic, it is a highly resolving tube. It can sound a tad bright depending on what other preamp tubes you're using, as always synergy is key. Initially I found it too bright and "shouty" even, which is why I experimented and tried other 12au7's. 

It took me a couple of months to find my winning preamp tube combination and the Psvane's are definitely a mainstay. In my experience it was all about achieving the right balance of detail and warmth and I got that with the Psvane. Hope this helps!


@ericjcabrera

If you can get past the initial brightness of the Psvanes, then once they settle in IME the Psvanes are a real winner. After the 70 hours they have that "Goldilocks" "Just Right" signature sound to them, at least in my Set up. I feel they do favour resolution over warmth, so may not be entirely what you after, but they are not a cold sounding tube, pretty neutral in that respect. Where it suits me in the Vincent SA-T8 Pre. is depending what Source I use, most of my sources are on the "warmish" side. I feel for the money the Psvanes would be extremely hard to beat in Dimensionality, quietness, micro/macro dynamics, black background and resolution. They reproduce instruments and voices beautifully throughout the whole audio spectrum.

I also rolled a Quad of Psvanes 12AX7's in my DOGE 8 Phono Stage. Made only a small improvement over the supplied no-name Chinese tubes, feel that the the Doge 8 has an average Phono stage. And this may be the secret. The better the Component the better the Psvane's perform? Possibly the massive leap in performance in the Vincent SA-T8 Pre. over the supplied Tubes, might be due to that it is an outstanding Pre. Certainly the best I've heard at anywhere near it's cost and a lot more, and might be allowing the Psvanes to really shine?

Soon I'm going to roll a quad of Psvane 12AX7's in my Unison Research CDE CD Player replacing the stock Electro Harmonix Tubes. Will be interesting. Unsure how much difference rolling Tubes in CD Players makes?


OP - contact Upscale Audio. Read the tube reviews (by users!) on their website before you call them. Bought many tubes over the years from them for my tube phono, pre and power amps. Have fun!