Brightest Sounding New Production 12ax7 tubes

[anomaly]

They all sound the same.

 

[harddriver]

The EH7025 is my favorite current production. I use them in V1 and PI and then fill out the middle with JJ83s or 90’ era square getter Shuagangs.

I don’t like the JJ83cc at all. I find it gritty/harsh in the mids and really stiff sounding. Definitely brighter than 83s if you need that. But may work in some amps I guess. As far as JJ tubes, the MG is not bad and the 803s is good as a PI.

The EH7025 also interests me so I might give that one a go as well. I'm mostly looking for a V1 tube that most closely resembles my 2008/09 New Sensor Russian Tung Sols that I really like.

The new 2022 ones seem a little different to my ears, maybe it's just me.........

 

[BrutalRob]

The EH7025 is my favorite current production. I use them in V1 and PI and then fill out the middle with JJ83s or 90’ era square getter Shuagangs.

I don’t like the JJ83cc at all. I find it gritty/harsh in the mids and really stiff sounding. Definitely brighter than 83s if you need that. But may work in some amps I guess. As far as JJ tubes, the MG is not bad and the 803s is good as a PI.

Can you describe the eh7025 compared to the EH12ax7 or the tung sol?

The jj e83cc certainly does not work in all amps. Out of all my amps, i only use them in one in v2 and v3 with an EH12ax7 in v1. Works very well in this one.

 

[Frehley12]

The EH7025 also interests me so I might give that one a go as well. I'm mostly looking for a V1 tube that most closely resembles my 2008/09 New Sensor Russian Tung Sols that I really like.

The new 2022 ones seem a little different to my ears, maybe it's just me.........

I would have suggested the EH7025, but EyesoftheSouth beat me to it. We are both Morris amp owners and the EH7025 in V1 is the best sounding tube

Can you describe the eh7025 compared to the EH12ax7 or the tung sol?

The jj e83cc certainly does not work in all amps. Out of all my amps, i only use them in one in v2 and v3 with an EH12ax7 in v1. Works very well in this one.

EyesOfTheSouth and myself are fans of Morris amps. Glen puts EH7025 in V1. That tube kills not only in those amps, but I just tried it in V1 of my Landry Lexi. Which has had a Tung-sol (too bright) JJECC83S(thick low mids), JJE83C(Clear very nice tube, my 2nd favorite) Chinese square getter 12ax7 from 90's Mesa Boogie era (Fizzy/Hairy) and an EH12ax7 gold pin (can't remember why I didn't like it in V1, but use it in my Lexi as the effects loop tube due to the low noise floor and clarity).

The EH7025 has no thin shrill highs. The mids are perfect. The low end is chunky but not loose at all. Palm muting the low E is tight and crunchy. I wish I did this along time ago.

Putting that EH7025 in my Lexi just nails the Scorpions tone in "The Zoo" "Rock You Like a Hurricane" etc.

 

[Frehley12]

Yeah I got the E83CC I guess my eyes wandered to the right when I was typing................

I only bought one in case I don't like it..... but i wanted to hear it.

Did you buy from Eurotubes?

 

[harddriver]

Did you buy from Eurotubes?

No, Amplified Parts.

 

[harddriver]

JJE83CC UPDATE.................Tube came in earlier this week I finally installed it and gave it a test drive.

I pulled a 9th generation Chinese Ruby AC5 HG from V1 of my Jose modded 2203 to compare. The Ruby is bright without being strident but it has some warmth and nice harmonics and is a great V1 tube, it was tested/rated at 110/105 by Dougs tubes from a few years ago.

I swapped in the new JJE83CC I could immediately hear that description of STIFF, it wasn't horrible but noticeable, there was less gain but it wasn't a HG rated tube but I could get my usual pinched harmonics but I had to work at it some, the tube felt less dynamic and fluid and fairly clinical sounding. It has some grind to it but it felt kinda boxy and less expansive compared to the Ruby 9 th generation.

It held up under gain and I didn't hear any noise but I didn't love it and my Ruby AC5 went right back into V1 of my amp. I honestly can't recommend this tube unless you like my description which seems to correlate with other above descriptions. I would rather buy another Ruby AC5 HG in my opinion. So it does not meet my criteria for a great V1 tube IMHO........YMMV And it didn't meet my 2008/09 Tung Sol criteria either.

 

[Frehley12]

I guess it depends on the circuit and what you are trying to accomplish. In V1, sounds great in my Bogner Goldfinger SL-45 and Landry Lexi. Not so good in my Morris UK'78. The EH 7025 sounds amazing in the Morris amp.

 

[harddriver]

I guess it depends on the circuit and what you are trying to accomplish. In V1, sounds great in my Bogner Goldfinger SL-45 and Landry Lexi. Not so good in my Morris UK'78. The EH 7025 sounds amazing in the Morris amp.

That makes sense because Bogners tend to be fairly thick sounding amps in the preamp. A Marshall 2203/plexi tend to be a little thinner than most of Bogner offerings.

It was worth a try... It's not a horrible tube just not what I was looking for and I needed to hear it to judge it.

 

[Frehley12]

You can always try that tube in another location and see how it behaves.

 

[RedPlated]

You guys should take plate voltage readings every time you change a preamp tube. In my opinion it’s the biggest reason for any tonal change you’re hearing.

You can put a Tung Sol in V1 and have say, 160vdc on the plate. Put a JJ in and you might have 145vdc. They ALL will have different voltages. Even two of the exact brand and model tube will have varying plate voltages. They are NOT all the same.

160vdc plate voltage vs 145vdc will sound and feel noticeably different. It’s not as simple as one brand vs the other. You have to take into account the voltages.

I check every plate voltage throughout the preamp when I build and amp. I’ll swap preamp tubes to get the voltages I want. I buy 100 JJ’s at a time (they are great pre tubes imo) and the voltages vary significantly between tubes. Sometimes I’ll go through 20 tubes to find the right one. Especially for the PI, where having a specific voltage spread between each side of the tube is ideal.

Also, when you fire up an amp after swapping a tube, it will take a good minute or two before the voltages rise to max and stabilize. So if you were playing one tube for 5 mins, shut off the amp, put another tube in, fire it up and immediately start playing, your scientific A/B test is going to be flawed.

I buy a lot of parts from ARS electronics. Marty sent me a couple 12ax7 testers to try. They’re pretty cool. They externalize all the 9 pins of the tube socket. So you can measure plate voltage with a multi meter without having to remove the chassis. For anyone who’s OCD about this stuff it’s a nice option. I’ll attach a couple pics of one.

I’ve been meaning to make an in-depth YouTube video regarding voltages, including adjusting the phase inverter voltage, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

 

[harddriver]

I guess it depends on the circuit and what you are trying to accomplish. In V1, sounds great in my Bogner Goldfinger SL-45 and Landry Lexi. Not so good in my Morris UK'78. The EH 7025 sounds amazing in the Morris amp.

I'm still curious about the EH7025 as well.