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In Reply to: RE: I agree with Pats findings........ posted by Neff on March 07, 2012 at 04:48:26
Are RCA, clear top, side getter, good as far as low microphonics?
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"Are RCA, clear top, side getter, good as far as low microphonics?"
I've never had any problems with microphonics with the clear tops. They do have long plates, which could make them more vulnerable to microphonic behavior in certain circuits than tubes with shorter plates, like the CBS-Hytron 5814A. Some people have reported that the 13D5's, which also have long plates, can be microphonic, too. That hasn't been my experience.
Here has been my experience with 12AU7-types:
Brimar 13D5: The least 12AU7-sounding 12AU7 I've heard. That is, clean, clear and not muddy sounding. Wide soundstage with precise imaging.
CBS-Hytron 5814A: Very similar sonically to the 13D5. A little congested sounding compared to the 13D5. Hard to go wrong here.
RFT ECC82: Very open, quick and clean sounding but somewhat dry and flat compared to the 13D5 and CBS-Hytron. It sounds more like a transistor than a tube, to my ears.
RCA Clear Top 12AU7: This tube has had a clear, balanced sound in the gear I've tried it in. While I consider it to be cleaner sounding compared to most 12AU7's, it lacks the detail and resolution of the Brimar and CBS-Hytron and sounds crude in comparison.
GE Long Plate 12AU7: 50's production with the large D-shaped getters. In my experience, as good as any European 12AU7. Nice balance of clarity and warmth. Great in combination with GE 12AX7's of the same era.
Amperex ECC82: Like the GE above. A nicely balanced tube with a great deal of upper midrange presence. Neither too soft or sterile sounding. Another safe bet for good sonics.
But, I have to say that I agree 100% with Neff about the E80CC. In my experience, it outperforms any 12AU7 by a good margin.
As always, YMMV, IMHO, TTL BS etc...
"Life is the only thing worth living for." -Flipper
Agree with the posters above, but the E80CC has to be OK'd by the manufacturer, it's not always a drop in, as far as I know.
The best 12AU7 examples I know of are:
- Hivac - long, smooth plates, square getter (lucid, warm, extended, sweet)
- Mullard - the long plates square getter is supremely superior to the later, short plates round getter (warm, fat sounding, liquid, slightly rolled off in the extreme highs)
- Amperex Holland long plates square getter, much, much better than the later short plate round getter (just like the Mullards above but without rolled off highs)
- Siemens silver plates (the best for everything, except don't do warmth, liquidity and fatness like the Mullards)
- I personally like Telefunkens, I don't find them thin sounding, and I like fat sounding Mullards, too. They give you a different perspective, that's all, I find them very extended up and down with a very liquid, not warm, but deliciously liquid midrange.
- CBS/Hytron 5814A black plates square getters. You can't go wrong with any American made 12au7 that has black, long plates and square or horseshoe getter, like Raytheon, GE, RCA.
- Cleartops RCA are a must try just to realize how much they lack the refinement of all the tubes mentioned above. But I prefer them to the short, grey plates round getters.
Of course, there are others.
The E80CC is so good that it has now found a new home in my 12AX7/ECC83 tube socket as well. I simply cannot believe how good this tube sounds in a MU follower position. Sure the heater current is double than that of the 12AU7/ECC82 and the MU is significantly lower compared to the 12AX7/ECC83 but hell the tube is one dead silent mother and has excellent linearity. It simply has no microphonics period. Try a kitchen fork (very gently....now) on its side. It has no ring. My favourite E80CC's are the pinched waist D-getter foil strip variety from the mid 1950's with the unique manufacturing code of "4" in an open font style from Eindhoven, Holland. The Heerlen, Holland variety from the late 1950's are also fine sounding tubes.
I been posting forever just how good the E80cc sounds. It is usually a better performer compared to a 6SN7 up to 150-180 volts on the plate and is stellar in direct coupled service with the first section usually performing at the low 80-100 volts on the first plate.
I prefer the Tungsram.
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