2. amps-preamps
  3. 193152-1301

12au7 tube?

Looking for a good 12au7 (JJ ecc802s currently). I know the Telefunken ECC802s is the holy grail, but it comes at a price that is just too steep for me to justify. Many will recommend Mullard, but I always find them a bit too "wooly", lacking in definition. They're going in a Mastersound 845 Compact.

 

What tubes would you recommend that fits between the clarity of the Telefunken (without the price...) and the Mullard? I don't mind spending a bit of money on a pair (let's say max $500 for the pair, prefer to be lower if at all possible).

128x128audiojan
coltrane1's avatar
coltrane1
816 posts
 

I like reliability in tubes. I’ve never been let down by Gold Lions, and their performance is very good. And you can get them for a song on USAudioMart. 

audiojan's avatar
audiojan OP
433 posts
 

It's quite concerning hearing about the quality issues at Psvane. Grant Fidelity (premiumvaccumtubes.com) dropped them due to quality concerns/issues and are selling Linlai only.

 

This makes it really difficult to find good 845 tubes for a future tube upgrade... As far as I know, of new tubes, there's only Psvane, Linlai and KR making them (and KR doesn't follow the standard, so they're out).

hasmarto's avatar
hasmarto
214 posts
 

@curiousjim , 

Have you ever bought problematic tubes from Viva and not been taken care of by them?

I’m asking because they always take care of their customers, at least in my experience.

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,931 posts
 

@hasmarto 

I have six PSVANE/Art 12au7 tubes and five of them are bad. Both Viva the vender and PSVANE blew me off. 
 

I will NEVER give either one of them my business.

hasmarto's avatar
hasmarto
214 posts
 

@curiousjim ,

Gotcha, I was under the impression that you didn’t get the tubes from them.

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