Brightest Sounding New Production 12ax7 tubes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lightning
  • Start date Start date
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
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.
Click to expand...
The EH7025 also interests me so I might give that one a go as well.:2thumbsup: 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.........:bash::LOL:
 
EyesOfTheSouth! said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
harddriver said:
The EH7025 also interests me so I might give that one a go as well.:2thumbsup: 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.........:bash::LOL:
Click to expand...
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
BrutalRob said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
harddriver said:
Yeah I got the E83CC I guess my eyes wandered to the right when I was typing................:LOL:

I only bought one in case I don't like it..... but i wanted to hear it.
Click to expand...
Did you buy from Eurotubes?
 
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:dunno: And it didn't meet my 2008/09 Tung Sol criteria either.
 
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.
 
Frehley12 said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.:thumbsup:
 
You can always try that tube in another location and see how it behaves.
 
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.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_7856.jpeg
    IMG_7856.jpeg
    1.7 MB · Views: 27
  • IMG_7857.jpeg
    IMG_7857.jpeg
    1.6 MB · Views: 26
Frehley12 said:
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.
Click to expand...
I'm still curious about the EH7025 as well.
 
Frehley12 said:
Another preamp tube to look at is the Mullard CV4004. This one.

https://www.thetubestore.com/mullard-cv4004-12ax7
Click to expand...
I've tried that tube in multiple amps... And I've always found it to be very congested sounding. Lots of gain on tap, but also very noisy.

The sound is very thick on it, but not in a good way.

Again, this may work better in another amp or with different settings. But with the amps and settings I used, wasn't for me.

Cheers
 
Congested? It has a lot of gain. Brings a certain zing and harmonics to lead playing. Upper mid focused too.
 
I own a couple of 12AX7 tubes. For people asking about the EH 7025.... These are the measurements I got from a Maxipreamp II when testing brand new EH 7025. Gain, transconductance and noise two values each and rounded.

Electro Harmonix 7025

1 83, 85 1600, 1580 86, 85
2 85, 84 1540, 1540 86, 85
3 85, 83 1570, 1530 86, 85
4 85, 83 1580, 1600 86, 85
5 82, 81 1600, 1580 85, 85

You're getting a 12AX7 tube that is lower in gain than the majority of 12AX7s ever built and has a bit more gain than a 5751. It has very low transconductance and if you like a Sovtek LPS in the PI you probably wouldn't like this. Where it's strong is low noise and resistance to microphonics. Other than some NOS tubes and getting lucky on a well constructed tube regardless of brand you won't beat it for low noise and microphonics. Great reference for what a quiet 12AX7 should be.
 
Frehley12 said:
Congested? It has a lot of gain. Brings a certain zing and harmonics to lead playing. Upper mid focused too.
Click to expand...
not arguing with you on that my friend. I am just stating my experience with it. As I mentioned, it may sound completely different in someone else's amp and with their rig in general.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top