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I need a lower gain 12au7 for Mastersound

I recently purchased a Mastersound Due Venti. It has 2 JJ ecc82 gold pins in the preamp. I find them to be a little high gain for my tastes. They do sound quite nice though don't get me wrong.

Could anyone recommend a 12au7 or variant that naturally has less gain than the JJ but still retains quite a lot of detail and low noise? New or NOS, doesn't matter to me.

Any responses or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Or if anyone has a Due Venti maybe they could let me know what preamp tubes they prefer?

I'm running it with a pair of La Scala's, they're just a little too efficient maybe...

Thanks for your time!!
ddderek
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Then you have asked the wrong question. You just need quieter driver tubes, not lower gain tubes. Tubes vary quite a bit in the amount of their ambient noise. You just need tubes that are selected for low noise. They are available from most dealers. Many of us, myself included, use tube amps with Klipsch speakers and have minimal issues with noise.
ddderek OP
9 posts
 
I'm Sorry for asking the wrong question.

I want my amp to be less noisy in the hiss department.

Where can I find tubes that are selected for low noise?

Do you think that it could be that the EL34 power tubes are too noisy as well, or probably just the preamp tubes?

In my current setup I'm running 2 JJ ECC82 Gold pin tubes for the preamp, and 4 SED Winged C EL34's in the power end, on a Mastersound Due Venti through Klipsch La Scala's.

If I can find some low noise tubes, is there any particular brand or model that someone with a similar set up would recommend?

Thanks to anyone that can help......

ddderek OP
9 posts
 
I'm new here..... So, sorry for the all the confusion. Some of the tech talk I don't quite get.
samhar
1,034 posts
 
If you replace the JJ's the noise may disappear, I bought some JJ 6922's they were all nosey. Go to Upscale Audio site to view a good verity of ECC82/12AU7's. The Radiotechnique Platinum Grade would be a safe bet at a "reasonable" $40 ea.
samhar
1,034 posts
 
Make that noisy!!!!
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