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Tubes & Valves Upgrades, Spares & General Comments |
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#1
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Telefunken ECC83/12AX7 Smooth Plate Experiences?
I just acquired a pair of Telefunken's ECC83/12AX7 Smooth Plate (NOS, with the "diamond" mark at the bottom) to replace the stock 12AX7's in my Prima Luna DiaLogue One. Second time rolling this type of tube in the amp. My only prior experience was a pair of Gold Lion's ECC83. Did not care for them at all and they were actually microphonic, so I returned them.
First impressions after only 3 or 4 hours with the Telefunkens: an overall sweeter and transparent midrange, yet a colder, more analytically revealing overall presentation that seems to be lacking a little bit of "punch" and vibrancy in the lower registries. Ironically, I am hearing plenty of notes and details in familiar recordings that I had never heard before, specially upper bass notes. But there's a certain "liveliness" and depth that I am now missing. In other words, it seems I sacrificed a little warmth in favor of more detail and tighter (but less "feel-it-in-the-chest") bass. Still pondering if I have gone backwards, forward, or simply side-ways. Overall, I think I (again) prefer the stock Prima Luna tubes (they seem to invite me to just listen and listen for hours) yet I understand that the Telefunken's are very much sought after and belong to the crème de la crème of NOS tubes. I realize the sound will be amplifier-dependent, and it would be pointless to generalize (different ears, different tastes and priorities, etc.), but I was just curious if any of you had any experiences with the Telefunken tubes that you'd care to share... Last edited by esteban; 07-09-2012 at 10:24 PM. |
#2
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Myles Astor, Senior Editor., Positive-Feedback.com, Goldmund Telos 300 amplifier, Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier, Doshi EVO phono and tape stages; Zellaton Plural EVO speakers; VPI Vanquish Turntable, VPI 12-inch Fat Boy gimbal arm and SAT LM-12 arm; Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, Fuuga mk.2, vdh Colibri Master Signature cartridges; Technics 1506/FM heads; Various cables including TA, MIT, Kubala-Sosna, Skogrand, Viero L3 Equilibrio speaker cables, Audience, SRA Craz 3 rack, Isobase and OHIO Class XL+2.1 platforms. |
#3
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Actually, I didn't. Can I use something like DeOxiT to clean the pins?
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#4
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Telefunken Diamond Bottom ECC803s
Hard to get. I've put myself on a waiting list for NOS if you can get such anymore. Last edited by MyPal; 07-10-2012 at 01:53 AM. |
#5
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Deoxit would do it in part. I like using Flitz or the solid paste Gorham silver polish and a Q-tip, thoroughly cleaning the pins and then cleaning them with Kontak. Makes a mighty difference (as this also does for AC plugs).
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Myles Astor, Senior Editor., Positive-Feedback.com, Goldmund Telos 300 amplifier, Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier, Doshi EVO phono and tape stages; Zellaton Plural EVO speakers; VPI Vanquish Turntable, VPI 12-inch Fat Boy gimbal arm and SAT LM-12 arm; Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, Fuuga mk.2, vdh Colibri Master Signature cartridges; Technics 1506/FM heads; Various cables including TA, MIT, Kubala-Sosna, Skogrand, Viero L3 Equilibrio speaker cables, Audience, SRA Craz 3 rack, Isobase and OHIO Class XL+2.1 platforms. |
#6
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Anybody have any experience with this tube? Is the slight lack of bass "punch" something that would be affected by break-in? I'm torn between this markedly more revealing/neutral sound of the Telefunkens and the warmth and overall pleasantness I was getting with the stock Prima Luna tubes... |
#7
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One question esteban,
Were these Telefunken ECC83/12AX7 really testing above new tube specifications? Many NOS tubes sold are finally pretty used tubes. This is the first thing to verify in your case. It is true that TFKN are not the warmest 12AX7 on market. But they should be kind for details and 3D soundstage. Mullard CV4004 should sound warmer and retain plenty of the good NOS tube qualities. Recently, I've been quite impressed by the very old (late 50's) AMPEREX Buggle Boy labelled tubes for 12AX7. If you can find some, don't hesitate!
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WILSON Sasha/ACCUPHASE A-65/SHINDO Monbrison/dCS Puccini/NAIM tuner/ECHOLE cables |
#8
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Quote:
__________________
Myles Astor, Senior Editor., Positive-Feedback.com, Goldmund Telos 300 amplifier, Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier, Doshi EVO phono and tape stages; Zellaton Plural EVO speakers; VPI Vanquish Turntable, VPI 12-inch Fat Boy gimbal arm and SAT LM-12 arm; Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, Fuuga mk.2, vdh Colibri Master Signature cartridges; Technics 1506/FM heads; Various cables including TA, MIT, Kubala-Sosna, Skogrand, Viero L3 Equilibrio speaker cables, Audience, SRA Craz 3 rack, Isobase and OHIO Class XL+2.1 platforms. |
#9
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I've tried matched pairs of Telefunkens, Mullards ( real ones ), and Bugle Boys in the tone and phono sections in my Fisher 500C but always go back to my 1957 RCA black plates. There's just something about them that works for me.
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#10
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I'm finding more and more vintage tubes to be less desirable with todays gear.....the designers are voicing around newer tubes and vintage may not always be best sound wise, different but not necessarily better.....the Teles seem to bring lot's of hype these day's and steep prices, more so than in the past plus there are a boat load of duds floating around even from dealers!!. There are many many vintage tubes that don't get the hype like the Teles do that are better IMO.....One is the RCA BP late 50's the above poster mentioned, those are fantastic sounding tubes and don't carry the steep price tag.....
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