Valves?? where to start?

The behavior of different valves varies enormously in different circuits and positions so it would be unwise to take someone's advice unless they are running exactly the same amplifier as you and share your preferences.

Of course some wag will no doubt be along from Pink Fish to tell you you are only listening to distortion and you should buy Naim for accurate representation of true tonal colours.

 

well the Quad II's are only as good as the pre amp used. Use a Quad 22 and you'll hear a horrible muffled sound, use something like a Croft or a Copland (as I did) and they can sound amazing, but they are so unreliable.

If you get some, spend as much as possible, and make sure the mains transformers are perfect.
I had to get mine repaired every 3 months and it just started driving me nuts, hence me "downgrading" to something new, that is reliable , great to play with and does sound better than I ever thought it will be.

Yes the sound ultimately better but you need a £1k pre amp and lots of patience (and spare GZ32s)

 

Tony are those RCAs clear tops?

 

The unreliable bit is worrying. I need to do a lot more research before sticking my toe in the water – I was thinking more a Leak Stereo 20 and a passive pre than Quads to be honest as they are cheaper.

No, they are the slightly later grey long plates, late 60s / early 70s I guess as the logo is similar to the one used on orange label RCA Victor records (e.g. Bowie etc). I like them very much, certainly the best I’ve tried so far – very even top to bottom and very ‘full range’, they make Mullards sound a bit rolled off at both ends by comparison. I’ve also got a pair of Brimar ECC82s which are nice too, quite Mullard like.

The 12AX7 position is a harder one to call, I can’t decide which I prefer between the Brimars and some Edicron branded Sovtek 12AX7LPS. Both are seriously good, the Sovteks a little punchier, the Brimar E83CC a little smoother / more refined. I’ve also got some General Electrics, but they are a bit too bright and lean for my taste, albeit clean. I borrowed a near NOS pair of 50s ‘yellow shield’ Mullards of a friend and they were stunning at the top but hopeless at the bottom, they made voice, strings and cymbals etc sound just wonderful but totally lost the pitch and timing in the bass which was a deal-breaker for me, I’d have bought them otherwise.

Tony.

 

if you're thinking of getting an old valve amp - the one to get is the 15w Radford, rated by many as one of the best amps ever built.

PS have you heard the telefunken ECC83s?

 

Never heard Telefunken 83s, never likely to at the price they go for either!

Tony.

 

Tony, if you want some Telefunken 83s look out for Seimens 83s - most were made in the same factory and are identical. Much cheaper though.

I ran a Telefunken and Seimens 83 side by side in my phono stage and they produced the same sound (excellent) and were visually identical in every way.

The tube on the left is a Telefunken, the one on the right a Seimens: