12AX7 ?

teisco

Well-Known Member
I am sure this has been asked a thousand times here but I would like to know the current thinking on what are some of the better 12AX7's to use in a tube preamp situation. Your favorites?
 
Baldwin "Greenies"--Sylvania long plate 12AX7 branded Baldwin with green lettering. The orange, yellow and white Baldwin labelled tubes were RCA and Raytheon, and IMO, not as good. Nice smooth gain and very quiet background--love them in phono pres.
 
I always "pass on" the currently made ax7 with any equipment i am selling and prefer to keep the original vintage ones. They seem to be made better and will not change in sound quality as they age.
If you have too much gain or noise issues, you might want to try some 5751 tubes.
 
I'm not boasting or trying to be a jerk but luckily for me I have a nice stash of (late 50's/early 60's) Mullards, Tele's, Amperex and a few Valvos. They all tested good and I have them because i was fortunate to acquire them over these past several years plus I'm not a tube seller so they're here if I need them.

As to which is my favorite I don't know cause to be honest I can't tell the difference. I guess I don't have the ear or the patience to try an discern if I can hear a difference.

I do like the look of the Amperex Bugle Boy's
 
Raytheon black plates and sylvania long gray plates are good cheaper alternatives to Mullards and Teles.
 
Telefunkens are great, everyone should have a pair of them. Mullards are great (I personally prefer Mullards to telefunken in my setup). Amperex and Brimar are also good. I have some Amperex 12AX7A Medical tubes which sound the best to my ears.

The one new production 12AX7 I like is the Sovtek 12ax7lps, although I have not tried many of the new production tubes.
 
I'm in the minority here. I really like the Genalex Gold Lions and the GE JAN drivers for the clean top end, while still being full bodied.
 
Nix - I use the Gold Lions in my Little Dot MK3. They are far better-sounding in that amp than anything else I tried in those positions. Thorne
 
I've enjoyed the typical vintage mullard and Telefunken and Sylvania but honestly the current tungsol and genalex are right up there as far as sound goes for 12ax7 especially for the price.
 
So that means pretty all varieties are great.
It very much depends on the individual. I prefer an almost, but not quite, solid state sound. Many prefer more rolled off highs and pronounced mids. Some favor a heavy bottom end. Tubes, to me at least, are a kind of expensive and overtly complicated tone control. You have to experiment a bit to find the sound you prefer, since they all add a bit of coloration in one way or another.
 
Baldwin "Greenies"--Sylvania long plate 12AX7 branded Baldwin with green lettering. The orange, yellow and white Baldwin labelled tubes were RCA and Raytheon, and IMO, not as good. Nice smooth gain and very quiet background--love them in phono pres.

I have a couple dozen each of yellow lable AX7s and green lable AU7s salvaged from a spinet organ that I haven't gotten around to trying. Will probably use some for the console resto-rod.
 
Wow, great replies! I did change out the 2 stock 12AX7 tubes in my tube amp for some old RCA clear tops and love the open sound of these - still open to all suggestions.
 
Tubes like capacitors all have their own + and - traits, really depends on your system, ears and preferences as to which would sound best to you.
Personally, with my system, NOS Mullards. That being said, the JJ's are reasonably priced and many like them.
 
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