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Posted 5 years ago

“My amp is an almost stock, except for a solid state rectifier, Dynaco St70. I put a matched, cryoed Reissue "Mullard" quad in to see if they beat the mismatched pairs that came with the St70 -2 original double o getter Mullard xf2, and two JJ El34. The Reissue "Mullards" have a ton of power and resolution, are quiet, and create a big soundstage. But they have none of the sweet midrange punch and room filling warmth of the Mullard -JJ mix. After running the reissue "Mullards" for 100 hours, I wanted to see if the complete lack of Mullard Magic was just in my head, and put the mismatched quad back in. It is immediately apparent- the new tubes don't sound much at all like Mullards. In fact the JJ El34 sounds much more like the real Mullards than the new Russian tubes. Some might like the new "Mullards" but to me they are too detailed, flat and lifeless. Sadly- this reissue "Mullard" is just a name and a design scheme, but nothing close to the real thing. It's not surprising- that's why real Mullards are the Holy Grail-My search continues!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Just wanted to put my two cents in, in fact only $131.00 for four EL34 cryo treated and matching too. This tube kick,s my stock KT88,s out of the ring. The midrange is exactly what the others were saying, tight and no booming bass and a sweet midrange that gently reaches the high,s. The music sounds just like your at the music hall. Installed in my Primaluna Prologue five power amplifier, Thanks Kevin for keeping your standards High.”

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Posted 8 years ago

“Purchased a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium from Upscale last year and along with it a quad of Tung Sol KT-120. I let the amp break in plus my ears with the stock PL EL34's and stock 12AU7's. The stock tubes are actually very good but of course we have to try different tubes. I will be quite honest so once I rolled in the KT-120's I didn't like them at all. Good bass and soundstaging but the mids/upper mids have too much glare and energy for my tastes. I let them play for several days off and on but the overall tone wasn't to my liking. I also bought some Mullard CV4003 to try in the front 2 slots but to no avail. So back in went the stock EL34's and I was happier. I also have on hand some EH KT-88 and KT-90. The 88's were worse than the 120's and the 90's sounded lifeless and boring. These tubes were from another amp so why not roll them in for evaluation I thought. I realized at this point I prefer the EL34 tone and sound. Enter some Gold Lion KT77. Now this is a good tube and very close to the EL34. It is a little energetic up top in comparison to the stock tubes plus they had to be broken in. I rolled in the Mullard CV4003 from Kevin and liked the sound better. As good as the KT77's are I knew I wanted to try the Mullard EL34. They arrived quickly as usual and I couldn't wait to listen. While the Mullards have more extension and energy than the stock PL EL34's I think they sound extremely good. In my opinion you can't go wrong with this tube especially at the price. If I had to rate them the Mullard is No 1 followed by the KT77 and not far behind is the stock PL EL34. The stock EL34 are warmer and have a fatter sound than either of the other tubes so if you prefer a really lush rounded sound and soft tone then this is the tube for you. The Mullard falls in between the PL and Gold Lion KT77. It probably is a little closer to the KT77 but has the EL34 sound I prefer along with good extension, and soundstaging. It doesn't have quite the bass punch the 77 has so I rolled in the Mullard CV4003 and viola, very nice bass and overall tone. If you are on the fence with this tube don't hesitate and buy it. I am very happy with the Mullard EL34.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“My first move after acquiring a Tube Amp is to get in touch with UPSCALE AUDIO. Through the years I learned that nobody is better qualified to advise me as to how best to achieve my sound objectives with a tube substitution. This time they suggested a tube priced so reasonably that I wondered if they hadn't made a mistake. Ten minutes into my first listening session with these Mullards and it was apparent that they got it right. Now, about a month later, I am so in love with the sweet detail of these tubes, that I listen all day, almost every day. My tweeter is the highly revealing Sequerra T-1 in the Calibrated Lab Version. With the Mullards, the T-1s sound sweet and detailed, with none of the harshness the "original" tubes presented. Yet the blare of trumpets presents with the raw edge that makes brass real. I could not be happier than I am with the Mullards, and the advice I got from Upscale Audio.”

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Posted 9 years ago

“After several years and multiple tube changes between Valve Art EL34, Gold Lion KT88 and KT66 reissues, I decided to stick with EL34. I replaced the 6922 at the same time with Electro Harmonix. Though somewhat hesitant to promote the surprising improvement in soundstage, I was, in fact, surprised at the difference beard by my wife and me. After a few days in my AE 25 Superamp, these have burned in nicely. I recommend!”

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Posted 10 years ago

“I bought a PrimaLuna Prologue four power amplifier about 3 years ago from Upscale and have never been disappointed. Fast forward to December 2014, I am giving the world of "Tube rolling" a whirl! Being a satisfied customer, I called and asked the charasmtic Upscale Audio owner, Kevin for his advice on choosing another tube MFG that would suit my newly sought-after "acoustic narvana". Now, kevin being the objective straight shooter he is, recommended that I read the tube reviews online at his website first. Ok, I accepted that and put the weight back on my pondering mind's sholders. Well, after absorbing tube reviews at the Upscale Audio website, I shook off my 30 minute "acoustic mind meld", and decided upon buying a set of re-released Mullard EL34's. The tubes arrived 4 days later, wrapped perfectly and unbroken. Another day went by, before I could actually, start the "rolling process". I started and finished my listening process by employing the age old A/B comparson technic. I chose 2 CD favorites to discern the sonic signature of the 3 brands of tubes I now own. The first adition, was with the original Prima Luna tubes, second was the Mullards and lastly, I compared my Gold Lion KT77's. So, my personal likes and sonic ranking ended up in this order. #1 Mullards, for warmth, exacting sound stage,tight bass and no glaring exaggerations across the spectrum, sounding very evenly balanced. The #2: Gold Lion KT77's, for semi-linear warmth, like the Mullards, but not the flat balance at the mid to upper end, the Mullard has. Still, it had a similar detail and tight bass.The #3 : Prima Luna EL34, great overall tube and it had the highest gain. The Soundstage is more forward and very raw, with a concert or live performance sound.The bass was not as tight as either of the other 1&2 rankings. For now l would highly recommend the Mullard EL34'S as replacements and buy them fromantic Upscale Audio! :-)”

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Posted 10 years ago

“My situation required 12 matching EL-34 tubes. After investigating options I settled on the 'new' Mullard EL-34. Skeptical or cynical about tubes bearing a respected name from the past? I was a little bit but there was no need to worry. Maybe it's a reflection of the sorry state of my previous Ruby tubes, but firing up the Mullards for the first time brought back the power and detail I wasn't aware I had lost over many years. And this is without an extended burn in period. It's worth mentioning the quality of the transaction. Upscale provided 12 matched tubes. That's an impressive service by itself, but there's more to my story. In the process of installing my 12-pack, I dropped one! I ordered another tube from Upscale and they took the time to match it with the parameters of the previous set. Nice! Back to the Mullards. This has been a positive upgrade to my system and I'm quite satisfied I selected them. For a 12-pack the cost per tube can be a big factor and the tension between price/performance is high. These tubes are a good solution. Based on their performance I would also consider them in smaller configurations.”

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Posted 10 years ago

Mullard EL34 No Cryo Reviews