Black diamond 12ax7s
This is an old thread but I thought I would and my 2 cents, which with inflation is 1 and 1/2 cents. I have tried the BD 12ax7 in my ARC SP 8 and in the 12ax7 slots in my Mc 275 IV's. In the SP 8 they did very well. A clear, neutral sound similar to real Telefunken 12ax7's. They lack the dynamic jump of the real thing, but that pre-amp has plenty of jump of its own. No complaints.
I never tried the power tubes.
Main complaint of the 12ax7's is the price, about $44 a piece. Too much IMO. If they were about $26.95 or so, then one could take a flyer on them, but at $44, not so much.
In the 12ax7 slots in the Mc 275's they were good, but an RFT in the first position gave more drive to the sound. Oddly, I did not care for the RFT's in the SP 8, not enough sound=stage and depth in that application.
Hope this is of value to someone.
|