Johnbonn, the Amperex 12au7 Bugle Boy and Sylvania 1957 NOS Sylvania black plate 3 mica in combo with the 6n3c-e magically transformed my Primaluna Dialogue 1. Big, open killer midrange, tighter, more tuneful bass, the top end is sweet, yet airy, no more violin etch, piano to die for, when in the recording, wall-to-wall wide soundstage, deep and layered, rich, wet, weighty, correct saturated tone, flutes and woodwinds also to kill for; and, oh my, Ella Fitzgerald and other female singers are there in room, all in wonderful size and scale. Guitars, guitars, WOW!
Revisiting Tube Recommendations for Cayin TA-30
My appologies if this has already been beaten to death! :)
I hope you all are up for this post! I'll owe you all big time!
I have a Cayin TA-30 (purchased in '03) with mods from Paul that included the sub out. It has been connected to B&W Nautilus 803's and a B&W ASW800. I have a Sony XA9000ES as my cd/sacd player.
I replaced them all once from Paul with EL34's, 12AU7's, and 12AX7's tubes, from EH. Simply put, the TA-30 just doesn't come close to sounding as good as the stock tubes did. It, to me, sounds so flat and not open like it used to. I bias the tubes about every 90 days to keep them running at their best.
So now come the questions.
1st. The broad question I have is I need to replace the tubes again, and I want to replace them all, but there are soooo many options and choices and I'm really not interested in "tube rolling", though I know I really should be. Where does one start? I'm overwhelmed!
2nd. The TA-30, I see, can accommodate my types of tubes. Is a KT88 "brighter" or better, or should I stay with EL34's like it's called for? Should optional tubes be used on the front end? Is the TA-30 "pushed" to much using these other tubes?
3rd. Since I have the TA-30 connected to the sub, should I focus only on mids and highs for tubes?
4th. Is there a source out there where I can get this information without bothering you all? I googled some variations, but just haven't had luck. Is it just me, or are all the tube reviews done on guitar amps, not home audio amps?
Well, wasn't that a mess??? :)
Thanks in advance to you all! I hope this thread can become a resource for all us TA-30 users!
Regards,
Bob
I hope you all are up for this post! I'll owe you all big time!
I have a Cayin TA-30 (purchased in '03) with mods from Paul that included the sub out. It has been connected to B&W Nautilus 803's and a B&W ASW800. I have a Sony XA9000ES as my cd/sacd player.
I replaced them all once from Paul with EL34's, 12AU7's, and 12AX7's tubes, from EH. Simply put, the TA-30 just doesn't come close to sounding as good as the stock tubes did. It, to me, sounds so flat and not open like it used to. I bias the tubes about every 90 days to keep them running at their best.
So now come the questions.
1st. The broad question I have is I need to replace the tubes again, and I want to replace them all, but there are soooo many options and choices and I'm really not interested in "tube rolling", though I know I really should be. Where does one start? I'm overwhelmed!
2nd. The TA-30, I see, can accommodate my types of tubes. Is a KT88 "brighter" or better, or should I stay with EL34's like it's called for? Should optional tubes be used on the front end? Is the TA-30 "pushed" to much using these other tubes?
3rd. Since I have the TA-30 connected to the sub, should I focus only on mids and highs for tubes?
4th. Is there a source out there where I can get this information without bothering you all? I googled some variations, but just haven't had luck. Is it just me, or are all the tube reviews done on guitar amps, not home audio amps?
Well, wasn't that a mess??? :)
Thanks in advance to you all! I hope this thread can become a resource for all us TA-30 users!
Regards,
Bob
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- 27 posts total
- 27 posts total