Mazda tube find...

Early B.
Early B. Posts: 7,900
edited June 2005 in 2 Channel Audio
I recently bought a pair of NOS Mazda 12AX7 grey plates. They're older than I am -- late 50's or so. Don't confuse the name with the car company. These are British tubes, although they could have been made in France. Anyway, I popped them in and they sounded great right out of the box. They already sound as good as any tube I've tried, and better than Telefunken, IMO. Very smooth and warm with plenty of zip. A bit light on the bass so far, but break-in should help. Gonna hold onto these for a while.
HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
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Comments

  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited May 2005
    cool to find NOS tubes like that.. never heard of those before. curious how you found them?
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited May 2005
    curious how you found them?
    Cruising on ebay. Did some research before I purchased them.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited June 2005
    Nice tubes! The original Mazdas are of French military origin. I have not heard them in 2 CH gear, but I've run the silver plate version in Fender blackface guitar preamp circuits. Very high gain, fat sustain, work wonderfully pre or post distortion.

    If these have the sound you like, you might consider trying the Svetlana Winged C 12AX7 sometime.
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