hopkinWFG":2i9hv673 said:
may I know whats the diff between a chinese 12ax7a to a 12ax7b? read that the 12ax7b has gotta better advantage against noise floor and If you're going to change out preamp tubes, make sure you make them all the same. It folk lore to pick and choose with vector slot to populateits more gainy than the 7a...but whats comparison for tungsol over shuguang preamp ? I often come to see many has got tungsol at v1 and rest are chinese... ? why so ?
If you're going to change out preamp tubes, make sure you make them all the same type and brand. It’s phony folk lore to pick and choose which vector slot to populate with what - that includes the PI and reverb slots.
Forget the 12AX7B, (my advice) go with the 12AX7A - in general.
The designations are as follows: "12" - the filament voltage, "AX" - an arbitrary model number, "7" - the number of internal elements, including the filament.
I don’t like the Tungsol 12AX7 – it mimics the JJ/Tesla ECC83 which is dark in tone and cuts off the high end too much for my taste in tone.
12AX7C (Chinese 9th generation) are my favorite all around. Try not to get involved in the illusion that the 12AX7C5/C7 HG/HG+ are any better for more $$$ (~$18) - IMO it’s all BS hype.
If you must follow the BS hype, then get the 12AX7C4 HG for ~$8 – they are great preamp tubes and very reliable.