Tube of choice for P12's

[jimbones]

What is YOUR tube of choice for CJ Premiere's. I own the P12's. Thanks

[Truth71]

Running 6550 output tubes?

[jimbones]

Oops, Ok so I meant to say Power tubes. It could be 6550, KT120, KT90, KT88 etc. I have the small signal tubes figured out

[Truth71]

As I recall, they were originally voiced on ( now NOS) GE 6550A, which are wonderful if one can find and afford them.
Otherwise, the re-issued Tung-Sol 6550

[jimbones]

As I recall, they were originally voiced on ( now NOS) GE 6550A, which are wonderful if one can find and afford them.
Otherwise, the re-issued Tung-Sol 6550

I am running the reissue TS. Was curious to hear if anyone is using a different tube as well (kt88?)

[Wildcat]

I have the smaller sibling to the P12...the P11. (The P11, P12 and P8 were all the same basic circuitry up to the output stages.) I've been running KT-120s in my P11 since I bought it several years ago.

When I first bought the P11, it was from the second owner, who was a friend of the family of the original owner, who had passed on. I think the tubes were the original GE 6550s (or maybe a replacement set--there is no way of knowing). The amp sounded "tired" when I bought it, and I did a full retube of the amp. It sounds quite good now! The KT-120s still offer the CJ sound but solidify the bass more convincingly. It's a nice tube that plays well at low volumes.

One thing that Bill Thalmann recommended was to change the 6CG7/6FQ7 tubes to RCA, as he mentioned that the Brimars I had in there were "wimpy." (Brimar was what Upscale Audio recommended...but since Bill was CJ's technical director, I trusted his recommendation.)

[admin]

I think this is why experience is so important. Specs are not going to be enough when making decisions such as these.

[Wildcat]

I agree. Our personal experience, and hearing the experience of others with the same family of amps, is the best path to take.

How are you liking the PV14L? I'm on my last set of M8080s and am going to see if Colomor (eBay, via the UK) still can provide me with a few sets of them. I never found a 6C4 variation that wasn't highly microphonic, and don't want to shoot the tube cannon at the preamp to find something else that works and sounds as good.

[admin]

Really like the PV-14L paired with the MV-55. It's a modest setup (as was the goal) and I have it down stairs in our sunroom so I do more casual listening. It's really a pleasure to have high quality sound in that space. I will often just hang out with my wife while she is doing something and I get to enjoy the sweet tunes.

The tube I'm using in the PV-14L currently is: https://www.thetubestore.com/6c4-ec90-6135-m8080

It was recommended specifically by Jon at TheTubeStore.

[Wildcat]

What brand did you end up getting? The listing seems to be a generic 6C4 placeholder.

I'm thinking back. The PV14L shipped to me with Philips-ECG 6C4s, and I had ordered some NOS Tung-Sol 6C4s which were more microphonic than the Philips.

(Philips-ECG was a parts replacement company--a local electronics store carried the line, and in addition to stocking thousands of things like resistors, capacitors, etc., other parts could be special-ordered. I still remember the blue and yellow packaging. I'm guessing the tubes may have dated to the 1980s?)

[admin]

I don't recall the specific manufacture off the top of my head. If you call/email Jon at TheTubeStore I'm sure he can give you more info. At $20 it was pretty expensive so perhaps worth a try.

I just checked my email conversation with him and he just responded with "we'll send you something nice." He's never let me down so I didn't inquire more than that and I simply don't recall what was on the tube...