Celebrating the 2-year mark of ownership of this surprising Hybrid tube amp. I have enjoyed the hell out of this thing, and it keeps getting better with every tube swap I do! As mentioned in the “Show Us a Pic of your End Game” thread, I swapped the PS Vane tubes that I have had installed for over a year for a matched set of Mullard 12AU7s. And I am impressed all over again. This will be the 4th set of 12AU7s I have had in this amp, and each set has been an improvement. The sequence was as follows:
Unknown 12AU7 (Russian, stock) > Genalex Gold Lion 12AU7 (Russian, matched set) > PSVain 12AU7 S Art series (Made in China, New Stock, matched set) > Mullard 12AU7 (Matched set)
Each swap has brought improved sound to the game in their own unique and special way. I’m listening to the Edition XS right now connected to the balanced output after spending the afternoon on speakers using the TA-20 as a preamp and I couldn’t be happier with the result. This amp has proven itself to be, for me at least, a versatile and amazing sounding piece of equipment for the price.
These Mullards, man… I have “Early Bird” from Mark Knopfler on and it’s making me chuckle it’s so friggin good. It’s still amazing to me that tube rolling can have that kind of impact on the sound signature, even though it’s a hybrid. But it does.