Perfectly balanced and matched pair of vintage Mullard 12AX7 ECC83 audio tubes - Made in Gt. Britain - Blackburn 1957 mC1 production - Strong NOS - Original Boxes - Elusively Rare
Tube Summary
No other tubes can deliver vocals like the Blackburn Mullard's, and that's a fact. These ECC83's are extremely hard to find today and are becoming every serious audiophile's darling. And this pair, from the elusively rare mC1 production of the late 1950s, is even more special - the warmest tone plus the most sought-after mC code!
Sound Qualities
The overall tonality of Mullard ECC83 tubes is warm and lively with a very spacious sound stage. "Like a warm British jacket of the finest tweed, these glorious tubes have an attractive sweet warmth in their midrange and lower regions." This is how the experts on audiotubes.com describe the sound signature of British-made Mullard tubes. The top end is silky and pleasant and doesn't get rolled off. They retain a fine sense of "air" at the top, and the upper midrange is smooth and liquid. These tubes reproduce the human voice, especially female voices, with haunting realism. The British made Mullard tubes are also known to have an attractive sparkle at the top with rich bass...now we know where that "warm British jacket" comes from!
Appearance & cosmetic condition
Nearly 100% of the paint and lettering are intact on both tubes, and the 3-digit Blackburn date codes are perfectly visible:
mC1 B7J (mC1 = ECC83 Long Plate gen #1, B = Blackburn, 7 = 1957, J = October)
mC1 B7E (mC1 = ECC83 Long Plate gen #1, B = Blackburn, 7 = 1957, E = May)
Professional Tube Testing
The two tubes tested Strong NOS (110%+ of nominal mutual conductance) and 100% balanced and matched on a reliable Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance both in uMhos and in percentage of nominal):
1,100/1,200(112%/120%)
1,180/1,190(118%/119%)
Good tubes start at 650 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 1,000 - 1,050, and the Mercury 2000's rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new tubes is 1,000. Test result can also be seen in the pictures. In case you wonder what all these numbers mean to your sound experience, it's actually quite straightforward: mutual conductance directly translates to a tube's ability to amplify sound, so the higher the numbers the better.
Packaging
This pair of tubes will be packaged in the ORIGINAL Mullard 12AX7/ECC83 tube boxes, secured by a handmade paper ribbon (by courtesy of Soundlumia.)
Shipping Policy
- US Shipping: Flat-rate($5.50) USPS Ground Advantage for ALL states.
- International Shipping: Flat-rate ($20.00) USPS First Class International for ALL countries.
- Orders ship within 24 - 48 hours
