Telefunken

Telefunken ECC81 12AT7 Matched Pair - ◇ Bottom - Berlin 1956/57 - Near NOS

$154.00 USD

Sale Sold out

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Product variants

Quantity

Product Summary

The "Crown Jewelry" ECC81 tube is here! If you've been seeking the reference tube sound then look no further. Designed for high end amplifiers and preamplifiers, Telefunken ECC81 provides high level gain with ultra low noise and are unquestionably the most sought-after vintage tube and treasured by audio professionals and enthusiasts.

Sound Qualities

Like any other Telefunken tubes, these ECC81's are very pleasant to listen to: liquid, euphonic, with a slightly warmer midrange than many other German tubes, which makes your sound experience smooth and non-fatiguing, and all that happens on a unbelievably realistic holographic sound stage, where everything feels bigger, wider and taller. Sound texture can be felt through infinite levels of details, laying on top of each other, both in depth and in width. So your quest for superb sound clarity can end right here. Lastly, it never gets old to say that no other brand is even close to these when it comes to low noise - Telefunken tubes are "extremely" quiet just as legend has it.

Professional Sound Evaluation

The pair worked wonderfully and sounded terrific in our professional studio setup for monitoring.

- Input: Cambridge Audio CXC V2 dedicated CD transport + Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC

- Amplification: Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies (3rd gen) Balanced Headphone Amplifier

- Output: Focal Clear MG Pro open-back headphones

Our full tube sound review was written 100% based on the actual listening experience while this pair of tubes were running in the system described above.

Professional Tube Testing

This set was tested and certified by RoeTest V11 tester with the following result:

Tube 1:

Measured transconductance (GM): 5.18/5.3 mA/V - 94%/96% (100% = 5.50 mA/V)

Measured plate current (IA): 9.362/9.692 mA - 94%/97% (100% = 10.0 mA)

Tube 2:

Measured transconductance (GM): 5.53/4.81 mA/V - 101%/87% (100% = 5.50 mA/V)

Measured plate current (IA): 8.702/8.822 mA - 87%/88% (100% = 10.0 mA)

NO shorts, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics.

Curve trace is also included in the original RoeTest report.

Appearance & Cosmetic condition

Beside the fantastic sound signature, we treasure this pair also because both tubes are in pristine cosmetic condition and the Berlin date codes on the side are visible on both tubes:

Tube 1: B fd 01 (B = Berlin, fd = May 1956)

Tube 2: B ma 01 (B = Berlin, ma = October 1957)

And of course the diamond mark on bottom - the symbol of the best sound one can ever find on ECC82's.New white tube boxes

Packaging

New white tube boxes