12AU7 Tubes

[rosconey]

right now im a fan of the windmill getter raytheon 12au7-seems to most everything right in my candela

[rosconey]

bought a pair of mullards of the bay last night-klaus seems to like them in the candela so i figured i would give them a try for 50 bucks a pair for nos ones

[Bigfish8]

bought a pair of mullards of the bay last night-klaus seems to like them in the candela so i figured i would give them a try for 50 bucks a pair for nos ones

The Mullards I purchased from Andy of Vintage Tube Services are the best tubes I have tried in Candela.  I have tried the stock JJ Teslers, Amperex Bugle Boys (second place to the Mullards) and Telefunkens.  The Teles are sterile as all get out and I was looking for warmth.

You mention that Klaus likes the Mullards and I read on his forums that Grover also prefers Mullards.

Good Luck with Them,

Ken

[Bigfish8]

I wanted to revive this topic as I have rolled a couple of different tubes in my Candela since the last post.  The Mullards are now in the safe along with the orginally supplied JJ's, Telefunkens and the Amperex Bugle Boys. I am currently running a pair of NOS RCA Cleartops I received a couple of weeks ago that replaced the pair of beloved Bugle Boys.  I don't know why I resisted purchasing the Cleartops for so long as I find them to be a very, very nice sounding tube. 

Do any of you guys have any recent 12AU7 tube rolling experiences with a tube I should consider?

Ken

[bpape]

You can try the predecessor of the Clear Top which is the Black Plates (40's thru early 60's vintage).  I find these a perfect balance of guts, warmth, and detail without being sloppy in my preamp.

Bryan

[rosconey]

right now i have some 50's conn  organ tubes in my candella-

but in still partial to the cbs/hytrons

[richidoo]

I put in the stock Eastern Electric branded 12AU7s yesterday. Why didn't I do that sooner???    It is my fav so far for my Minimax - not surprising that the talented designer Alex Jeung would voice the preamp for the tube he ships... Same with Manley Snappers. I have tried everything in it, still prefer the stock tubes.

They are not as warm and have better dynamics and tonal accuracy than some of the other tubes I have been trying, some of which are NOT cheap at all. I'm sure there are some tradeoffs, but for me it is a nice balance of what I'm looking for. There are some nice tubes coming out of China now.

Maybe Bill can sell EE tubes separately?
-Rich

[Bill O'Connell]

The Chinese 12au7's have always done the jump factor really well. They sound very smooth and neutral, if they have one little weakness it might be a just a tad grainy on top.They are not a lush tube by any means but I will take that tube over a Telefunken 12au7 any time of the day.They are a tad warmer then the Tele's.With either of these tubes I recommend not using silver IC's. To much of a good thing in clarity and neutrality.
 BillC, did you pick up the Brimar 13D5 or just Brimar 12au7? The reason I ask is I really like what the 13D5's do as the drivers in our monoblocks. The extended highs just sparkle in that application compared to the stock Chinese 12AU7's. The upper midrange in the 13D5's just has that smoothness and air about it. My JBL 2404 tweets just shine and shimmer.
 Rich, have you tried the Brimars using your new birthday presents :drool:That tweeter should love what the Brimars bring to the table. Also Alex Yeung, you know what they say,just spell my name right Alex will appreciate it.
 Surprisingly, I like the bottom end of the GE 5814, deep but not punchy,think old tube sound if looking for that flavor.
 Did Amperex ever make a bad tube? Some lust after that foil getter but I have one that was NOS and even used it maybe 50 hours and have lent it out and put it back in my system and the highs on that still are a bit to etched for my liking, all others by Amperex have always pleased. The funny thing about this tube was I know I paid about $130 for it 
 Carusoracer, The Mullard 10M goldpin is the cats meow, probably the finest if not the king of the 12au7 family.
 Those Amperex 7316's are ok if halo gettered, the D or square shaped getter  betters it in just about every way, at least in my system.
 Please take all suggestions with a grain of salt, as systems, synergies, tone looking to achieve, and personal tastes are just a few of the variables.With that said I always liked the Raytheon triple mica blackplate 5814A also their 1950's vintage blackplate 12au7's.Wonderful portrayal of instruments, notes that hang in the air, soundstage with pinpoint placement of musicians.
 If you ever run into the Siemens silverplate 12au7 that would be a ticket for cleaning up any muddiness

[Bigfish8]

Bill:

Thank you for that excellent summary of your experience with the 12AU7 Tubes.  It appears that I still have many more to trial and I need to quit making system changes to enable me to finalize on the best tube for my tastes.

Ken

[Carlman]

Yes, thanks Bill.. I put your voice to those descriptions and it was really nice to 'hear' you describe the sounds... so nice...
Thanks again.
-Carl

[richidoo]

Awesome Bill. I think of Bill as the Tube Fairy (meant in the best sense.) 

I did try the Brimars first and thought they were a little too round for me, but incredibly smooth, lots of good attributes too. You're right the stockers treble is not as silken smooth, but still very good. Freq range is great and detail is good, but the magic harmonic stuff is really what I like about it. There is something about the combo with EL156 along with stockers in the minimax that is intoxicating. I can feel the pleasure with sustained chords. There is a lot of 2nd/3rd harmonic, very sexy. Guys, this EE M156 amp is dynomatic. More on that soon.  But as with all EE products the 12au7s make a big difference, so you can have some say in the sound.

[mboldda1]

does anyone find the rca cleartops to be a little thin sounding?
at least i think so in my belles 21a preamp.

[Bigfish8]

does anyone find the rca cleartops to be a little thin sounding?
at least i think so in my belles 21a preamp.

I have had a pair of RCA Cleartops in my Odyssey Candela Preamp for approximately 2 weeks.  They replaced a pair of Amperex Bugle Boys.  I would describe the Clear Tops as having a clear, detailed sound but not sterile sounding like Telefunkens.  They are certainly not warm sounding like Mullards and I believe they have a more defined top end than the Bugle Boys.  I don't find the Clear Tops to be thin sounding and honestly this is the first post I have ever read that describes their sound as thin. 

What have you rolled in the Belles 21a that you prefer to the ClearTops?  I can't say that the Cleartops are my favorites as I really liked the Bugle Boys but they are growing on me.

Ken

[Carlman]

You could compare 2 pairs of RCA cleartops and have 2 different sounds... That's been my experience.  The older the better on the RCA's... as long as they actually work. 

[richidoo]

When I switched from Legacy speakers with big bottom, to Usher with very accurate bottom, I found that my pair of clear tops became too light in the bottom. But they are excellent 100Hz and up!   I used the ones from tube depot, probably not very old versions.