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In Reply to: RE: Siemens E83CC and other Siemens 12AX7 varieties posted by FenderLover on October 18, 2009 at 23:34:35
Thanks for that response FenderLover. It is exactly the descriptive type post I am looking for. I have tried many 12AX7's and my favorite is the Raytheon BP SG. I have used the RCA BP SG and they are also high on my list (just behind the Raytheon). You are right to point out that because one tube suits your current system and taste better than others, it does not mean it is a "better" tube. I also used the Amperex/Philips (it can have many names) LGP SG that is highly regarded and priced. It is warm with lots of body but compared to the Raytheon and RCA (not to mention almost any 5751) it smears detail to an extent that makes it not usable in my system. I suppose in an overly bright system it would be a viable choice. The only tubes that are inferior to others are the ones that smear detail or have a frequency imbalance. All others are tone controls, ditto for cables.
Bart
My experience with the Siemens-Munich E83CC is similar to Fender Lover's. I use them in the phono section of my pre- and they are my favorite tube in that slot. More balanced up and down - excellent highs and nice tight bass - than 60s Philips Heerlen ECC83, 50s RC long black plates, 50s Tung Sols (though the ones I have of these are fairly long in the tooth), or any modern production (though I have not tried the Sovtek LPS or the new/gone Blackburns.
If they werent so pricey I would buy more of them.
These are very nice tubes, indeed! really, it's hard to find any Raytheon or Tungsol made tube that distracts from the overall tone. I think some folks kinda give up on these tubes (esp the mil spec ones) because they don't give them time to break-in. It's like some mil spec Russian tubes. They can sound very constricted, even constipated, at first. But once they break-in, some of these tubes can have a very long steady-state tone that's hard to duplicate. Kinda cool thing about good tubes.
Have yoyou tried a Telefunken 12AX7? The sonic to my ears is fairly close.
Telefunken and the Siemens tubes were stock, OEMed, pre-amp tubes,of several vintage amp makers.
Look for Oem Sherwoood (Siemens or Teles I own 3 Sherwood amps) Heath, Eico, Scott, "The Fisher" and so on. I can't say who used what other than Sherwood.
It's probably the least expensive way to get them. Smart dealers sell them as Siemens or Telefunkens OEM will not persuade them into heavy discounts. However on ebay you can find them cheaply.
Ask a vintage tube amp aficionado what to look for specifically,to get Siemens.
It is a shame that even if the amp came to me tubed up, the tubes were frequently replaced. A result caused by tube pullers or because they wore out.
Siemens long plate double getter support ecc83 was a very nice and open tube, but try to find old Tungsram welded plate silver pin ecc83.
Rgd.
Tungsram is a manufacturer that Tubemonger used to have in stock but I forget which types.
He gets some really hard to find goods from time to time like the Brimar ECC32 CV1988 GTY from Scratchscay (SP?.)
I have used both the smooth and ribbed plate TFK ECC83. I think for overall tone some of the Munich S&H sounded better. Though I do like the smooth plate TFK that I've tried.
Tungrams are real sleepers, IMHO. They can lend quite a powerful tone to the system. I find they lack a bit of the detail that TFK, S&H, or Valvos have. But, in guitar amps, Tungrams can really bring out great overtones and crunch when pushed hard. I use them in small SE amps, as they help give the amp nice overhead, in kind with bigger push-pull amps. Very nice tubes.
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