Gold Pin Tubes
- Thread starter Zeuss
- Start date
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
Meh, to me it's snakeoil really.
Theoretically, there's no improvement unless your sockets are gold-plated too.
Second, I have both regular and gold-plated 12ax7s from EHX and they sound exactly the same to me in all amps that I've A/B'd 'em in.
So, IMHO, unless you've really heard a difference yourself from the vid (did the video even do a comparison or was it just a sales-pitch?) and believe that said-difference is worth the extra-money (which is possible, your ears should prevail, not mine nor Bob's sales-pitch) then just buy regular tubes.
That's my opinion and experience.
Meh, to me it's snakeoil really.
Theoretically, there's no improvement unless your sockets are gold-plated too.
Second, I have both regular and gold-plated 12ax7s from EHX and they sound exactly the same to me in all amps that I've A/B'd 'em in.
So, IMHO, unless you've really heard a difference yourself from the vid (did the video even do a comparison or was it just a sales-pitch?) and believe that said-difference is worth the extra-money (which is possible, your ears should prevail, not mine nor Bob's sales-pitch) then just buy regular tubes.
That's my opinion and experience.
JeffB
Let it B
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
i'm all about tubes, but I cannot tell the diff in the current made tubes I have tried with them.
They should corrode less over time, I suspect that is the biggest benefit, but with the construction, I don't see modern tubes lasting like old tubes do/did. I have had several modern pre and power tubes give up the ghost (mostly JJ, bt some New Sensor and MIC stuff too)
Different times- tubes are a novelty today, not so important like they were yesteryear.
i'm all about tubes, but I cannot tell the diff in the current made tubes I have tried with them.
They should corrode less over time, I suspect that is the biggest benefit, but with the construction, I don't see modern tubes lasting like old tubes do/did. I have had several modern pre and power tubes give up the ghost (mostly JJ, bt some New Sensor and MIC stuff too)
Different times- tubes are a novelty today, not so important like they were yesteryear.
allbutromeo
New member
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
I've used gold pin and regular Tung-Sol 12AX7s, and while there was a difference in sound, it wasn't enough to convince me that it was because of the gold and not just variances in the construction tolerances
I've used gold pin and regular Tung-Sol 12AX7s, and while there was a difference in sound, it wasn't enough to convince me that it was because of the gold and not just variances in the construction tolerances
FuseG4
Our Neighbor Totoro
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
I heard they just take the higher gain spec tubes for the gold plating, the higher gain helping the signal to noise ratio.
If you want a high gain tube it's easier to just get a regular model from whatever brand you like and ask the seller for gain and noise. Much cheaper than +$10 for gold plating.
I heard they just take the higher gain spec tubes for the gold plating, the higher gain helping the signal to noise ratio.
If you want a high gain tube it's easier to just get a regular model from whatever brand you like and ask the seller for gain and noise. Much cheaper than +$10 for gold plating.
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
The point is that they are, probably, "selected" tubes. It's not supposed to be just about the plated pins. Personally, I'd buy, tested, (and selected for high gain if I wanted that) from a reputable dealer over the factory gold pin versions.
Just a couple examples of gold pins here but kind of interesting. http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2013/05/current-production-12ax7-tubes-ten-of.html
The EHX 12AX7 gold pins seemed to be more consistent and higher gain.
JJ ecc83s gold pins were lower gain, lower noise. But I see them advertised as higher gain.
The point is that they are, probably, "selected" tubes. It's not supposed to be just about the plated pins. Personally, I'd buy, tested, (and selected for high gain if I wanted that) from a reputable dealer over the factory gold pin versions.
Just a couple examples of gold pins here but kind of interesting. http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2013/05/current-production-12ax7-tubes-ten-of.html
The EHX 12AX7 gold pins seemed to be more consistent and higher gain.
JJ ecc83s gold pins were lower gain, lower noise. But I see them advertised as higher gain.
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
Companies will say lots of stuff about their gold plated tubes but I emailed ehx about the specific details tha made the goldplated tubes better and I'm still waiting 6 months later. If it was real and justified I'd assume they'd jump on a chance to justify it even more precisely than on their ads...
Companies will say lots of stuff about their gold plated tubes but I emailed ehx about the specific details tha made the goldplated tubes better and I'm still waiting 6 months later. If it was real and justified I'd assume they'd jump on a chance to justify it even more precisely than on their ads...
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
Shooter.556
New member
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
I put one in my Blackstar ht5 and it woke that amp up..
The stock tube was all grainy and microphonic. I really regretted buying that amp until I swapped that tube.
Best $15 I ever spent.
I put one in my Blackstar ht5 and it woke that amp up..
The stock tube was all grainy and microphonic. I really regretted buying that amp until I swapped that tube.
Best $15 I ever spent.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Re: Gold Pin Tubes
Did you replace the stock tube with a gold socket pin version of the same tube? Because if not, it's just like the same difference you'd hear if you're swapping different 12AX7's in there (or 12BH7's, whichever you swapped).