Time for new tubes.. which ones?

Parrot,
The original stock tubes are supposedly a Chinese Mullard double mylar knockoff T7.

Koestner,
Look up the thread in the Archives-"Tube Rolling for TAD-150". Lots of suggestions there. I just found it recently myself and am looking for suggestions also-mine was the last post. I have a pair of Sylvania 5751s on the way to try. I have a pair of x7 RCA black plates in mine now and they are an improvement over stock. I am also going to order a new pair of Groove tube 12AX7Ms to try.

I own a TAD-150 and have tried various brands of NOS and used vintage 12AX7, 5751, 12AT7 and 12AU7s from the US & Europe. Right now I am using RCA blackplate 12AU7s. These tubes have excellent bass characteristics and do everything else very well. Another bonus is that the volume knob has much more play in it. 12 o'clock is now very loud insted of 9 o'clock. The 5751s would be my second choice. Good luck in your search.

The 12AU7s have less gain and that's why you have more precise volume control which will likely result in better channel tracking. Aside from the TAD thread, you might also check out the detailed descriptions of the various brands of 12A?7s available from Joe's tube lore at Audio Asylum. You will have a bewildering array of choices since there are probably a half dozen variants of each of those basic tubes and usually multiple manufacturers. One thing you should think about is how much is appropriate to spend on NOS tubes for a modest cost unit. For example, I think that the Gold Pin 5751s are now going for well over $100 each!!!

I replaced the stock tubes with Groove tubes 12AX7s from Upscale Audio. Reasonable price and nice improvement over the stock tubes.

I just ordered a few different pairs of tubes for my TAD-150 to try out.

Cryoed Sylvania 5814A black ribbed plates NOS
Cryoed Sovtek 12AX7LPS NIB
Cryoed Tung Sol 12AX7 ECC803S Gold Pin NIB

I'll post when I have checked them out.

Also head good things about the JJ/Tesla 12AU7 ECC802 Long Plates.