Moderator: jadis
jadis wrote:Hi Noel,
No, I would say that the Tele 803, and for that matter, the 80 series, belong to another
level than the standard ECC83s. They were manufactured at a certain quality standard, for
lesser noise, and longer life, and the German military would even commission Telefunken
to mark milspec tubes with the Falcon logo. They would not go into such trouble if they
would be similar with the ordinary ECC83 tubes.
I have moved from the Tele83s to the Mullard 83s and now to the Mullard CV492s. I
did not try any 4004s so far but my friends who did found the ordinary ECC83s of Mullard
to sound more lush in the mid than the 4004. I tried a 4003 and found it really to be even
more dry than a Tele82 in my line stage. If you are looking for very lush sound, the Mullard
ECC83s and the CV492s will be great for that. Or even the 10M ECC83s of Mullard will do the
same job. In Hongkong, the local folks love Mullards more than Teles, based on the shootout
reports they post. And I guess they all look for the lush midrange rather than the more extended character of the Teles, which have a more 'neutral' mid, ie, less lush. And I believe, that the 4004 sounds different from the commercial Mullard tubes, and different also
to the CV492 bec the 492 kind of resembles the 10M ECC83s.
cia wrote:Hi Noel,
May I ask what kind of cdp you have since you state you change the tubes?
Carlos
ichabod wrote:Getting a perspective on the different tonalities of these tubes need a good ear. I congratulate you for making such a distinction for those wondering out there what tube in the driver stage might compliment their gear. Improve on it perhaps shifting the tones from lush to something lusciously lush yet tight and extended. I find the teles in my vintage stuff to sound better edging the mullards in clarity and extension. Well, the Germans like marches and love to listen to their music in a clear tone. German grammaphone recordings seem to indicate that quite well. I also have some transcripts of German musicians doing their bid and the sound seems in that order as well. Clear as a bell, and the teles are what they are.
Of course these combinations add fun and luster to the whole gamut of recordings, and it's up to the listener to deduce which seems to cut well into the music. Which holds a truer tone vis-a-vis the recordings on a given amp trained to a specific speaker with a definitive sonic character. Still synergy is what matters. And I'm happy that tubes can afford us such variety.
jadis wrote:
The Mullard Long Plate ECC82/12AU7 is the latest tube to roll (no
pun intended) into my line stage. This tube affects mostly the CD
input of my line so I expect only the CD section to change, from the
present Tele smooth plate ECC82 that I'm using lately.
I had tried a Mullard CV4003 before, and the sound was less liquid
and drier than the Tele smooth plate. I toy around with the Tele ribbed
and smooth plates, with the smooth plate giving a more 'up front' character while the ribbed, in my system, is more laid back and relaxed.
And now the Long Plate Mullard. I was suprised to find out that tonally
it did not sound too far different from the Telefunken tube. But, it is a lot
lot more lush sounding, especially in male and female voices. Soundstage, bass extension, and highs are pretty much the same for the
two tubes, but definitely, the overall musically caused by this sense of
added lushness makes my CD listening a lot more pleasurable especially
on badly recorded CDs. Despite adding lushness, there is no veiling
effect unlike other brands. Amazingly, it adds on to my musical enjoyment
with little or almost nothing to give up in sonic attributes.
jadis wrote:yes. there are also 45 degree sloped getter tubes and the mica is also sloped in a 45 degree manner.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests