Grant Fidelity Audio - Read Only

[r3cc0s]

Yesterday I went by and paid Ian a visit, bringing over my Jolida JD100A

My CDP, as I had thought, sounded quite good with the little mods, such as the dynamatted case, GF PC 1.5 power cord, and Electro Harmonix 12AX7s

Well, it ends up... it is a really good cd player, well a really musical one, specifically after we removed the RF Tube dampeners (the metal covers with springs)
By removing the tube valve covers, the presentation seemed more relax, like literialy adding air (like the tubes were able to breathe).

After I sad in Awe for quite a few minutes, we rolled some tubes, ranging from some of his Cryo'd 12AT7s from Shuguang, and the TJ Full Music...

Now the inital impression and present impression is and was: Wow these TJ tubes reveal alot of detail

& It definately did, but after playing around, we found my well worn Electro Harmonix gold pin to convey the best Tone (well at least when tested with Ian's new Solid State Integrate power amp)
The EHs' definately didnt' convey every neuance or harmonic in the dynamic fashion that the TJs did, but these old tubes for some reason... in this application had "soul"

However just to see if it was because of equipment matching, Ian sent me home with the tubes and to my suprise, I found exactly the same circumstance with one exception...
I have another spare set of EH 12AX7 and I wanted to see whether they would convey the same flavor as the well used ones...
Nooop
The ones that likely have thousands of hours on, were lush and just had that beautiful sound, where as the virtually new EH's had a sound which seemed just more recessed.

Now... that being said, the TJ's brought literially what I concider; another 10% more detail to my CD player, no more emphasis on any particular part of the range but just more detailed, however the tone of my old EHs just seemed more pleasant. To the untrained ear, it'd still be hard to notice the detail, but the tone is definately present..
I'd say the TJs are definately a more neutral & accurate tone.

Now... I'll have to check with Ian, but when I swapped out the EH 12AX7s in my GF KT88 based amplifier, it was a noticable night & day difference.
The difference was all for the better!
These TJ's just brought my amplifier to a whole other level. I thought the EHs were a sufficient pre-amp tube, but wow... no comparison it just isn't.

Now I've played with 12AX7s in the past, but never with the CD player and not with this particular GF amplifier.
I've used Mullards, Telefunk, EI, EHs, and a couple RCAs finding that NOS isn't always better.
However of the bunch, the Mullards & Teles from the early 70's were definately beautiful sounding. Rich tones and just that "musical" presentation.
Now these TJ's in the amp not only bring back to "my" ears that richness, but also, like with the Jolida CDP, brings an increased level of detail, allowing for what seems to be more headroom and instrumental separation.

So while writing this post, I'm grooving away to Norah Jone's Peter Malik's NY CIty album and can only re-empahise that the sound is just rich & well beautiful...

What I notice is that the 12AX7s running in the pre-amp section of the amp, runs a helluvalot hotter than in the output stage of the Jolida CDP.
Assuming more voltage/wattage is being driven to this cathode, might just explain why its such a good fit for a pre-amp tube?

My setup:
Totem Arros
Tara labs RSC Prime 1000 bi-wired
Jolida JD100A CDP -- EH 12AX7 Gold Pin
Eichmann Express 6 Series 2 IC
Moray James 1 Meter IC
Grant Fidelity A-88 Amplifier with stock Shuguang tubes except for the TJ Fullmusic 12AX7
Grant Fidelity PC 1.5 Power Cords (on CDP & Amp)
Grant Fidelity RPF-120 Power Conditioner w/ Volex 17604 14AWG power cord

[LarryC]

Hi r3 - nice review on the tubes. I've started tube rolling myself. Not much experience with the process and to be honest I don't think my stock tubes on my A-88 are fully broken in yet (I'm guessing I have about 60 hours on them, maybe 70) but decided to get some TJ Full Music from Ian & Rachel anyway (like you, just the 12AX7 - still running stock everywhere else but looking at the Gold Lion KT-88's for my next 'roll').

I have so far noticed a difference as well. I agree, more detail, seems a bit more forward, which in my case is good as I'm running the Totem Hawks on my rig (as opposed to your Arros) so it makes a good match (the tube sweetness is definitely still there).

I only have about 12 hours or so on these new tubes though (been out of town an awful lot lately) so I can't really put in a proper review with them (from what I understand, tubes need 200 hours on them before they really start to perform as they should) but right out of the box they do sound better than the stock Shugang tubes that came with with the A-88.

I've also rolled in some Tung Sol NOS 6AK5W into my GF B-283 tube processor over the stock 6J1's. Very noticable difference there. Really like what the Tung Sols bring. I found the 6J1's keeping the music a bit laid back (again though - this is not 'burned in' either as I may only have about 25 hours or so on the B-283. I have this in another system on a (really) cheap Kenwood CD player) but these Tung Sols bring out a lot more detail, sweeter highs, better bass, and IMO a better 'bloom' on the midrange.

I really like this tube rolling - though I can see how it can get really expensive. I think I'll be sticking with this for awhile (I've read from both Ian and Rachel as well as other places that the preamp tubes offer the biggest difference in sound, so upgrading to Gold Lions may be a bit of waste if the sound quality is not changed that much).

But back to the TJ tubes - so far I like them very much. Once I get more hours on them I'll be swapping them back with the original stock tubes and will be writing my own review on the differences. With my work schedule that could be a while yet though
_________________
It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it

[igrant]

Any updates?

Thanks,
Ian
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[r3cc0s]

Ian, the 12AX7s are simply marvelous

As I still had the stockers, your set of AT7's and my EH's around, I played around a couple nights ago and simply put, my findings remain.

Excellent tube, simply amazing how much more dynamic and beautiful sounding these tubes are than stock, or even the Russian EHs in this pre-amp application.

I am thinking that I might buy another set for the CDP to see if running them in series will bring further enjoyment to my setup.

[igrant]

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tubes/messages/22/220420.html

Some are starting to post, note his words of what they best.

Cheers,
Ian
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www.grantfidelity.com
Come see us at FSI 2009, RM 909
Sign up for the GF Newsletter
Coupon Codes !!