C 500t tube rolling

[Marmarosa]

Friends,

I hope you are all well and safe in these troubling times.

I'm going to change the stock tubes in my 500 T preamp.

Reading the manual, I see I need eight 12AXTA tubes.

I suposse I should only change two of the four phono circuitry tubes, am I right?

Any advice? It`s Gold Lion the best option in the "40-50 dollars per tube" range?

Thank you in advance.

[ptrck887]

I am a very happy C500T owner. Gold Lions will be a very nice upgrade and reasonably priced at that. You will need to change the 4 linestage tubes. These are what you see on the C500 face. The 4 tubes approx in the center of the amp are for the MM & MC phonostages. You'll only need to change out the ones you actually use for vinyl. Remember you'll need to let the new tubes "burn in" for 50 - 100 hours before they sound their best. Have fun!

[Marmarosa]

Originally Posted by ptrck887

I am a very happy C500T owner. Gold Lions will be a very nice upgrade and reasonably priced at that. You will need to change the 4 linestage tubes. These are what you see on the C500 face. The 4 tubes approx in the center of the amp are for the MM & MC phonostages. You'll only need to change out the ones you actually use for vinyl. Remember you'll need to let the new tubes "burn in" for 50 - 100 hours before they sound their best. Have fun!

Thank you very much

[W9TR]

When I had my C 500 C/T I rolled in GL tubes with Gold Plated pins. They sounded fantastic!

The GL tubes I put in the line section up front were slightly taller than the stock tubes, just enough so there was some pressure on the tubes and enclosure. So I removed the four small black grommets that hold the tips of the tubes and everything went together perfectly.

Tom

[Marmarosa]

Originally Posted by W9TR

When I had my C 500 C/T I rolled in GL tubes with Gold Plated pins. They sounded fantastic!

The GL tubes I put in the line section up front were slightly taller than the stock tubes, just enough so there was some pressure on the tubes and enclosure. So I removed the four small black grommets that hold the tips of the tubes and everything went together perfectly.

Tom

Thank you Tom,

Did you noticed a big improvement by comparison with the stock tubes?

[W9TR]

Yes - smoother midrange and overall more dynamic sound.

[ptrck887]

Marmarosa,
Just FYI, I have run and still own about every highly regarded NOS 12AX7 and 5751 on the planet...including very rare and expensive Mullard Master Series 10M's, Mullard Long Plates f91's & mC1's, Mazda long greyplates & Mazda Millitary Silver plates, Telefunken Redtip smooth plates, 1955 RCA Blackplates, Tesla E83CC frame grids, Sylvania Gold Brand Triple Mica Blackplates and more....the Gold Lion Reissues, shockingly (at least to me) are the ones I run. Of all the above mentioned tubes, the GL throw out the most spacious soundstage I've heard. They just seem tonally right. Perhaps a tad laid off in HF's than some but I'm not sure that's a bad thing...In my rig a very immersive and engaging presentation across all genre's. A pleasure to listen to. Enjoy!!!

[Marmarosa]

Originally Posted by ptrck887

Marmarosa,
Just FYI, I have run and still own about every highly regarded NOS 12AX7 and 5751 on the planet...including very rare and expensive Mullard Master Series 10M's, Mullard Long Plates f91's & mC1's, Mazda long greyplates & Mazda Millitary Silver plates, Telefunken Redtip smooth plates, 1955 RCA Blackplates, Tesla E83CC frame grids, Sylvania Gold Brand Triple Mica Blackplates and more....the Gold Lion Reissues, shockingly (at least to me) are the ones I run. Of all the above mentioned tubes, the GL throw out the most spacious soundstage I've heard. They just seem tonally right. Perhaps a tad laid off in HF's than some but I'm not sure that's a bad thing...In my rig a very immersive and engaging presentation across all genre's. A pleasure to listen to. Enjoy!!!

Thank´s for share your experience.

I think the GL will be my option.