I thinking about upgrading my preamp tubes for some added gain and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if there is a wide disparity between regular JJ ECC83S and the gold pin of the same kind? The cost is double for the gold pins, but is the difference in cost worth it?
Gold pin preamp tubes
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Mattfig
Well-known member
In short, probably not...The JJ803S and the gold pin are basically the same tube minus gold connectors if you want to save a few bucks...Otherwise, Genalex Gold Lions are next to none to my ear...
But there's lots of other stuff to have in order (cables, speakers, etc) before tubes...
But there's lots of other stuff to have in order (cables, speakers, etc) before tubes...
Jaded Faith
Well-known member
In short, no they are not worth it. Without going into great detail, gold plating is mostly a marketing gimmick with a few legit benefits. For the sake of your question, just know that gold pins are not most ideal unless the socket they are going into is also gold.
Now if you buy tubes from a questionable source and aren't certain to be getting quality tubes, then perhaps they might be worth a little more. Certainly not double though.
Now if you buy tubes from a questionable source and aren't certain to be getting quality tubes, then perhaps they might be worth a little more. Certainly not double though.
Mattfig
Well-known member
It really has nothing to do with the Gold part...The gold doesn't make any better of a conductor than standard but the difference is in design of a few...The Gold Pin Tung Sols preamp tubes are much less shrill than the standard (which I even find harsh sometimes)...I'm telling you, if you just want a little bit different of a tube JJECC803 all the way...I think they run about 14 bones a tube...Is it worth the extra few bucks? I think so.
yes there is a difference but it is very subtle just a touch smoother
Really I think a lot depends on the preamp tubes you are using
if you are into modern preamp tubes the tung sol is a great option if you like bright and the reissue mullards and jj's are good for darker/smoother stuff (the jj ec803 has a little more mids and highs than the ec83s)
I have never really been a fan of the EHX tubes or really the Tung Sols for that matter the reissue Mullards are what I like for preamp tubes and JJ seems to be my choice for power tubes (at least for KT77, 6CA7, EL84, and 6V6)
then you can get into NOS tubes, JAN tubes, Genalex Gold Lions, etc and open a whole other can of worms.
Basically I think the most important thing is to just have low noise, low microphonic, functioning tubes they really don't play a big role in your tone despite popular belief or shall I say misconception
TONE is in the fingers the rest of the signal chain is really just that subtle tonal change.
I think the biggest difference makers you can do to an amp (aside from picking different amps/modules) are probably the speaker and in some instances transformers (upgrading to like a Mercury Magnetics can make a night and day difference). But that's just my opinion and as always YMMV.
But to my ear most current production tubes are just nothing special to write home about.
Really I think a lot depends on the preamp tubes you are using
if you are into modern preamp tubes the tung sol is a great option if you like bright and the reissue mullards and jj's are good for darker/smoother stuff (the jj ec803 has a little more mids and highs than the ec83s)
I have never really been a fan of the EHX tubes or really the Tung Sols for that matter the reissue Mullards are what I like for preamp tubes and JJ seems to be my choice for power tubes (at least for KT77, 6CA7, EL84, and 6V6)
then you can get into NOS tubes, JAN tubes, Genalex Gold Lions, etc and open a whole other can of worms.
Basically I think the most important thing is to just have low noise, low microphonic, functioning tubes they really don't play a big role in your tone despite popular belief or shall I say misconception
TONE is in the fingers the rest of the signal chain is really just that subtle tonal change.
I think the biggest difference makers you can do to an amp (aside from picking different amps/modules) are probably the speaker and in some instances transformers (upgrading to like a Mercury Magnetics can make a night and day difference). But that's just my opinion and as always YMMV.
But to my ear most current production tubes are just nothing special to write home about.
