Best sounding 12AX7A/ECC83 & 12AT7/ECC81 tubes? Telefunken, Amperex, Mullard?

I agree. The gold lion 12AX7s which I have tried totally exceeded my sonic expectations for a current production tube. These sound absolutely wonderful inside of my SP8.

Their build quality may still be lacking compared to many vintage tubes, but not their sound.

 

Check out tube organs for sale on the local Craigslist. A lot of great 12ax7's and au7's. Also look in places like habitat for humanity and flea markets. Wurlitzer and Hammond used amperex in some organs, also black plate Rca in older ones.

 

This is just my take on these. I like tubes that were made in the 50's.
12AX7, Amperex d foil getter or Mullard goal post, square or halo getter.

 

Just received the Psvanes and installed on my Tube Box DS phono stage.
Not happy with the design of the enclosure of the Tube Box- the tubes have to come out for the case to slide off yet there is precious little length of exposed tube above the top edge to get a good grip. I resorted to double sided tape in order to remove the old tubes.
With just a few minutes of warm up I played a side of an old Stomu Yamashta "Go" record and quite honestly I preferred the sound of the old tubes. The Psvanes sounded too smooth, less dynamic and a little dull. However I let the tubes play on and by the end of the side things were sounding much better.
So I put on Pink Floyd "Division Bell". Still kind of smooth, not bad. Then I upped the volume a little. "What Do You Want from Me" started playing. Really like this song. Bass is getting deeper. Then the guitar- holy mother of pearl I am blown away and awestruck by the sound of that guitar solo! WOW! It just projects into the entire room and sounds so loud, clear and incredible! Now we're talking, yes- very large unavoidable grin!
The sound is more dynamic, more in your face rock and roll than the stock tubes but at the same time smoother and sweeter, especially the highs- cymbals, etc. sound very sweet.
Psvanes are OK by me so far, even after less than an hour of playing time, much better than the stock tubes (which were still pretty good).
Thanks for the suggestion!
I do have a set of NOS Telefunkens on order, we'll see what those bring to the table soon. For now I am amazed by the Psvanes.

 

Look forward your post on that comparison. I'm a big fan of the Psvane

 

Will do. At the moment I'm literally stunned. I will never go back to a solid state phono stage.

 

Tubes take at least and cables/interconnects between 24-48 hrs. to settle in after swapping out/moving around. Then you add anywhere from 60/100 hrs. for the charateristics to showup.

 

Thanks, I was just about to ask about this. Do idle but "powered up" hours count towards break-in or do they have to be playing music?

 

As far as I know, just powering them up is enough.

 

That's not what I said. They at least start showing something. For me the 100 mark is pretty good indication. This is all subjective.

 

Depends on the tube type (driver, power, rectifier) and circuit voltages.

 

Glad you like them, I did take full responsibility remember! I recall being impressed with them right out of the box much like you, but give them a week or two of normal use (I just turned the RIAA on when home from work and turned it off at bed time). When fully burned in you'll have that grin locked on your face permanently. It looks silly but who cares as long as the sound is good!! You're right about the slightly darker presentation compared to the stock tubes. I would probably rather describe the stock ones as being on the bright side of things, and the Psvane's being neutral with an ever so slightly "dark" tilt. I have never heard the Telefunken tubes but from what I read the are probably even more open and detailed, perhaps a little on the lean side of things.

 

I am 60 to 100% certain that tubes need 60 to 100 hours burn in to fully sing

 

Add another 100 hours and they sing like Aretha Franklin.

 

yes, i do remember!
any tricks to getting the tubes out of the enclosure? the enclosure of the TBDS can't come off because it is blocked by the tubes and the tubes are difficult to remove because there is only about 1/2" sticking up from the enclosure openings.
i had to yank back and forth quite a bit.
when i get the funken teles i plan on leaving the enclosure off so i can swap faster for better comparisons.

 

Yanking back and forth has been my method as well thus far. A thin small piece of silicone material may be the way to get a firm grip on the tube when replacing it? Look forward to hearing your verdict on the Telefunken tubes vs the (fully burned in) Psvane's.

 

Anyone have experience with the Dario Miniwatt E88cc?

 

I still cannot find anything I prefer over my beloved Raytheon blackplates ! I have a pair of Philco branded 12ax7/s foil getter that come close though.

 

listening to more records and the Psvanes seem to be great for some recordings and not so great / too dark on others. example- war on drugs sounds dark, dry flat and sluggish. personal preference but this record sounded really good with the stock tube box tubes on my system. i'll see how it goes as they accumulate hours...

 

I've preferred the RCA black plates in my 500C over Telefunkens, Mullards, Bugle Boys, and the original Tung-Sols that I've bought. Purely subjective.

 

I have those RCAs on my list to eventually try and have read some good things.
Seems like a crap shoot to find a tube to compliment your system and match your preferences (which are purely subjective).
I'll never go back to solid state phono preamp but will most likely never buy a tube based line stage or power amplifier.

 

I really like my old Fisher 500C and I use it in one system but in my main system I use restored McIntosh solid state ( C29 preamp and MC2105 amp ) and enjoy that equipment just as much if not more. It's all about personal preference in audio and whatever makes your ears happy.

 

Just rolled in some vintage Tele's in my PrimaLuna....they are all they are cracked up to be!