Gold Lion 12AX7 - C2300 Tubes Differences.

[ajdo]

Purchased my C2300 used roughly a year ago and do not really know how many hours the tubes were used by prior owner. Decided just play C2300 until tubes needed to be replace, then connect an Hour Meter to better follow new tube usage.
For past few weeks, my right and now left channel are staticky at time, letting me believe current tubes need to be replaced.

I'm looking at BnB Amazon store to purchase new Gold Lion tubes. From what I understand gold plated and made in Russia is preferred which is what they sale. I also see differences between tube labels.

- Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 tube
- Matched Pair (2x) Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 tube (ECC83)
- Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 tube (Balanced Triodes)

The price difference is minimal but was wondering for personal understanding if there was any advantage to "Match Pair" and "Balanced Triodes"

Thx... AJ

[jdandy]

AJ.......Gold Lion 12AX7/ECC83/B759 gold pin tubes are manufactured by Genelex in Russia. The cheaper Gold Lion 12AX7 tubes without the gold pins are manufactured for Genelex in China.

Balanced triodes are important in some tube circuits but not all circuits. Phono stage circuits are more sensitive to both triodes performing identically, but again it isn't as critical in some circuits as in others. McIntosh preamplifiers are far more tolerant of varying tube perimeters than others.

Matched tubes relates to tubes having equal or closely matched transconductance measurements. It is important in some circuits and in others it is not a critical issue. Again, McIntosh is tolerant of tubes that are not necessarily perfectly matched.

BnB Tubes states that they guarantee balanced triodes. I just discovered this evening that BnB now charges a fee of $1.50 per tube for matched pairs or quads. That is still quite reasonable, especially combined with their already excellent prices. I buy matched tubes whenever possible just because I think it may matter to some degree.

[scirica]

My Gold Lion 12AX7/ECC83/B759 gold pin tubes were ordered from BnB tonight and should be here by next weekend. I ordered 4 matched for an additional $1.50 as Dan stated. These will go in the L/R Mains and L/R MC Phono sockets. Looking forward to the experiment.

[ajdo]

Thx Dan... As usual it's a pleasure to read your simple explanations on complexes subjects.
@sciruca: just did the same. Appreciate your input !
AJ

[jdandy]

AJ.......Something to consider, tubes that are matched when perfectly new rarely remain matched in the circuits. As electrons flow from the cathode (emitter) to the anode (plate) the specially formulated metals inside a tube are altered and consumed. The rate these changes take place is never identical from tube to tube. Understanding this makes it easier to grasp the notion that matched tubes are not a necessity in most cases because even when they are matched they do not remain matched through their life span. We as audio enthusiast demand matched tubes as a matter of course, probably because we tend to make mountains out of mole hills about everything. It is part and parcel of audiophile neurosis.

[ajdo]

Dan... Agreed, makes total sense. $1.50 more per tube is not going to break the bank even if it improves my sound for only a moment.
Still very much enjoying my McIntosh C2300 setup but contemplating adding c1100 or C1000 to my collection for real sound improvement and experience in near future.
I'm leaning towards C1000 SS for now, unless McIntosh decides to come out with C1100 SS model. Still have a long way to go in sound upgrade and improvement before "neurosis" hits me ☺️
AJ

[kbehnia]

Question for the great AA tube experts:
i have a C2500 that has suddenly dropped 20DB on the left channel for all outputs. Definitely the preamp is the problem for i disconnected it and using headphones i have validated that the left channel seems to be weaker than the right. All the tubes light up and seem to be functioning. The question is can this be a bad tube that is weak? or should i just take the unit for maintenance?

[djwhog]

Calling dr Dan.........

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

[miner]

Yes, a bad or weak tube could be causing your channel issues. You could try switching the right and left line stage tubes to see if the channel issue follows the tube.

[kbehnia]

Originally Posted by miner

Yes, a bad or weak tube could be causing your channel issues. You could try switching the right and left line stage tubes to see if the channel issue follows the tube.

Good idea - should have tried that already. will do the test today. I also used the opportunity to order 6x Gold Lion 12AX7/ECC83/B759 tubes which i hopefully would upgrade the system. I just wanted to make sure there werent other problems.