NAD: Peavey 3120

[Dave Sloven]

I was going to recommend the Sovtek LPS for your phase inverter, but I see you ended up there anyway. The JJ ECC803 is another I would recommend in the PI for similar results. Balanced of coarse. On some amps a Tung Sol 12AX7 in V1 will do the trick for improvement in one's clean tone. I like the JJ KT77s also. I have a pair in a 50watt Epiphone SoCal.

Yeah this line of amps seems partial to the Sovtek 12AX7 LPS in the PI slot for some reason. Frank just installed an old one that I had in my JSX when I bought it. I have ordered a new one and will install it when it arrives, and put the old one away as a spare again. That's what I did with the one that came in the JSX.

I had three Tung Sols in my 6534+ (in V1, V3, and V6) and ended up replacing them all with Ruby 12AX7 AC5 HG tubes as they were unreliable. I haven't tried them in the Ultra series amps. They seem to like this combination of JJ and Sovtek. In the JSX I have an ECC803S in V1 though, just like V2 and V3. The JSX is not as gainy as the 3120

 

[Dave Sloven]

Wow even with the 5751 this amp has got a eload of gain, although the clean channel is pretty good now compared to before. Must be something in the gain channel circuits

Just gave it a test drive and I'd say this one of the loudest amps I have ever played. Certainly seems to be louder than the JSX. Might be something I am doing with set up but I should have worn earplugs for that test

 

[Dave Sloven]

I changed out V2 for a JJ 5751 as well and that has really changed the amp. Gain is less fizzy and there is just more range on the gain dial. With 5751 tubes in both V1 and V2, a ECC83S in V3, and a balanced Sovtek 12AX7 LPS in V4 I think I have a great combo, and the KT77 quad has added better cleans without sacrificing aggression on the gain channels.