Home Tubes Asylum

Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ

Re: Raytheon 5814 triple mica versus double mica which sounds better?

Thanks for all the great replies. This is my favorite tube family.
So many very good options and a handful of great ones. Since the Siemens silver plates I have done some more rolling. The Siemens silvers initially sounded a bit clinical but ended up sounding a bit too lush after a while. I think they were new and going through burn in transition. I then rolled in a pair of Philips Heerlen long plate D getters, also new tubes. After the haze burned off (they sounded veiled initially), they were very good. They were well balanced with full rich bass but ultimately lacking in high end energy and detail. A classic tubey sounding tube although a very good one. I just got a pair of Mazda chrome plate 6189's in the system and I think they will be very hard to top. Great extension on both ends of the spectrum. Lots of detail without etching and tight powerful bass. I haven't heard a 12AU7 type that does anything better than these with one possible exception. The Siemens 5814A has an uncanny abilty with 3D imaging but is ultimately lacking in bass content. A nearly great tube but for the lack of deep bass. I am running 7 Amperex pinched waist 6922's in this system and 4 Sylvania 5751 blackplate triple mica square getter. The last piece was finding a 12AU7 that could match these. The Mazda
6189 chrome plate is that tube. I also recently (today) received a pair of Raytheon triple mica blackplate square getter tubes but I am in no hurry to audition them. It will be extremly difficult to pull the Mazdas out even to try something else. I am using an Audio Logic 24MXL DAC (2 pinched waist Amperex Holland), CAT Ultimate MK2 preamp (3 Amperex pinched waist 2 Holland 1 USA and 2 Sylvania 5751 BP 3M SG), and a CAT JL2 amp (2 Amperex USA PW, 2 Sylvania 5751 and 2 Mazda chrome plate 6189's). The whole thing is wired with top of the line Stealth. The Transport is a CEC TL2. I know there is always room for improvement but for now I'm a happy camper.

Bart


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Western Glow Tube Service  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups


You can not post to an archived thread.