Preferred Series 7025 / 12AX7 Preamp Vacuum Tube
The Preferred Series 7025 preamp tube is a high quality 12AX7 vacuum tube type. This tube is a reproduction of the highly regarded and sought after Mullards from the 1960s.
This 7025 is a high quality and very rugged custom 12AX7 tube produced for us in China by the Shuguang factory. The plates are manufactured out of a premium metal imported from Germany and supported with extra thick mica spacers to insure against microphonics. They are burned in and tested at the factory and then again on our digital high voltage equipment to make sure the tubes selected for you will provide outstanding tone and performance.
From our review: "A great sounding 12AX7 tube type that reminds me a little more of the ECC83 that Ei made in the old days. That's a pretty nice compliment. I compared this tube against an old Ei and Telefunken smooth plate and there was very little difference. Lots of gain with a rather low noise floor. No microphonics issues at all. Very good considering the large plate size. Spot welding may be better for microphonics than crimped plates. I tried it in all the standard guitar amp duties and it was fine. Fabulous in Blackface Fender amps. We tried this 7025 in a 66 Vibrolux reverb 2x10 combo and the tones were all there. Light and shimmering or really aggressive, it's all good."
Warranty: The Preferred Series 7025 tubes carry a 6 month extended warranty.
Other Preferred Series tubes
12AX7 TypesAdditional Information and Downloads
Reviews:
12AX7 Tube Review
Tube Matching Information:
Matched Sections Service
Downloads:
Preferred Series 7025 Datasheet (PDF)
Download Adobe Acrobat PDF reader
Warranty Information and Return Policy
Warranty Period: 6 monthsPreferred Series tubes have a 6 month warranty from date of purchase. (Any exceptions will be noted on that tube's Warranty tab)
If you receive a tube that does not perform to the manufacturer's specifications, please do the following:
- contact us to get a return authorization
- return it via regular mail within 180 days from when we shipped it, and we will provide an exchange or refund of the full purchase price of the tube.
Returns not related to warranty or defect will be considered at our discretion, and are subject to a 15% restocking fee.
We can not accept returns that don't have an authorization, are past 6 months, or are returned improperly.
These guidelines may be updated without notice.
Ratings & Reviews
83 reviews
My McIntosh MC225 now sounds wonderful
by Bob W
When I acquired my McIntosh MC225, the tubes that came with it were near end of life. I wrote an email to thetubestore.com looking for recommendations for a new set of tubes for the MC225. I received an email back that recommended : Preferred Series 7025/12AX7,JAN Philips ECG 5814A/12AU7,Electro-Harmonix 12BH7,Tung-Sol 7591A. I ordered the tubes in the correct quantity. For the first 25-50 hours on the new tubes my MC225 sounded harsh. Then it got that sweet tube sound and I found out how incredibly wonderful a McIntosh MC225 sounds. I have recently ordered a spare set.
V1 in a re-issue 65 Princeton Reverb Amp
by Layton
IMO the V1 tube is the most influential tube as a single tube replacement. Compared the stock groove tube, the Preferred Series and a Gold Lion Premium...was hoping these went on special...and they did (thanks Tube Store).First, I am looking for a sweet, warm, woody tube to play clean tones with archtop guitars....this is important to remember because I look for different traits compared to a rock/metal person.Groove tube, stock tube at purchase, good enough to make you buy the amp ....practically anything else is better.After comparing the tubes, 2 rounds of rolling,....I left the Preferred series in the V1 slot for the simple reason that I liked the sound better. It was more 'warm' than the Lion...simple as that. (The Lion is also a great tube and would probably be preferred for more of a blues rock tone, just slightly more aggressive and slightly louder). Both were clear, quiet and musical.The Preferred tube is a solid tube at a good price.....great for the Fender Princeton playing clean.In the end these are the tubes in the different positions that I have chosen to create a great sound:V1 preamp: Preferred (12AX7)V2 reverb: Mullard NOS (12AT7)V3 reverb recovery and pre inverter gain: Gold Lion Premium (12AX7)V4 Tremalo and Phase Inverter: Preferred (12AX7)V5&6 Power tubes: Tung-Sol 6V6V7 Rectifier: Tung-Sol 5AR4
A great tube
by Vinny
Stewart's comment hit it on the head. It's a great sounding tube. The workmanship looks very nice as well. It's warm, woody and has a smooth distortion. Perfect for old Marshalls. I think the Preferred Series 7025 and the Svetlana are the best current production 12AX7's.
Best of both Worlds
by Stewart
The Preferred Series 7025 12AX7 is a great sounding tube.A nice low noise floor ,with excellent gain.A warm woody sound to them ,that you can push to get a great crunch that does not get too harsh.All around Great performer.
Brought New Life to the Old Ampeg!
by Shawna
I purchased 3 of these on the recommendation from The Tube Store. I originally thought of getting the expensive Northern Electric for V1 and Preferred Series for the rest, but the guy on the phone recommend against that choice for my amp, and instead recommended the Preferred Series for all positions. I was like, "oh really?" He said, "They'll sound great in that amp". He was right!I replaced the stock tubes that were less than 6 mos. old: A Groove Tube 12AX7-R in V1 and two Electro Harmonix 12AX7's in V2 and V3.I did a bunch of test recordings with the old tubes vs. the new, with two different basses. One with humbuckers (Musicman) and one with single coils (Warwick), both trying different playing styles (finger style and slapping).At first I didn't notice much difference, but after playing back the different recordings it became clear the that new Preferred Series tubes sounded MUCH more musical and balanced. I got the definition and clarity in the notes I was desperately looking for! The old GT and EH tubes were just as loud as the new PS tubes, so I didn't "gain" anything there, (pun intended!) but the highs of the GT are noticeably harsher and brittle sounding. The GT had more bottom, but sounded boomy and distorted slightly. The Preferred Series in V1 sounded smoother on top and much tighter and controlled on the bottom! And most importantly the mids were clear and present. The notes had been given character presence. Sweet! Overall a more pleasant and musical sound. Just what I was looking for!There are surely better tubes for more money perhaps, but these did the trick for my aging workhorse of an amp! The SVT-4 Pro is not known for an amazing tone. It was built to be powerful and that's about it. But these tubes really helped to add a better tonal quality to the amp! Highly recommended!