Smooth vs. Ribbed Plate Tele 12ax7s

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
Was wondering if anyone has done any comparison of the smooth vs. ribbed plate Teles in their gear. I've compared a variety of 12ax7s in my phono stage (Ampex, Mullard, Tele, stock new reissue Tungsol, Siemens dual post) but stopped at the rib plate Teles since they sounded so good. Should I have gone on to listen to the smooth plates?
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
The prize tubes in my system are a pair of Telefunken NOS 12AX7 circa 1964 with ribbed plate, gold pins and diamond bottom. Truly remarkable sound. I also had a pair of NOS Mullard 12AX7 circa 1956 that was also wonderful but fell short of my Teles so I sold them
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,357
5,470
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Manila, Philippines
I personally do not find any significant difference in sound between the Tele ribbed and smooth plates. Basically I'd say they sound the same. What sounded better were some 'red tip' or 'green tip' tubes I got from Andy Bowman of Vintage Tubes back in the 90s. I said 'wow' to myself. They were tested for 'low noise' and marked with color tips to signify 'best for MC, MM, or line stage' usage. Gold pins Teles are another thing. Mostly there are made with 'milspec', therefore will be more durable and also have low noise. Pushing the 12AX7 envelope to the extreme would be the Tele ECC803s which many years ago tubedepot.com was selling for something like $700 each in while boxes and they were sold out in a few months. They have gold pins and some even have the 'eagle/falcon' logo. I had the opportunity to try 3 pcs in my Jadis JPL line once and the experience was like listening with cleaner ears or viewing a newly cleaned windshield. I have since settled with 1950s Mullard long plate/square getters as it is more suitable to my genre of music - acoustic instruments, jazz trios and female vocals.
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,357
5,470
2,810
Manila, Philippines

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,357
5,470
2,810
Manila, Philippines
That's cool, Steve.
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,357
5,470
2,810
Manila, Philippines

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,357
5,470
2,810
Manila, Philippines
True. The risk of getting fakes tubes of this type is enormous given its lucrative prices. So buyer beware. EC83S, that's another rare one. I never saw one yet. Btw, I use a pair of Mullard CV 492s in the input stage of my JPL. The cathode follower is a Mullard Long Plate ECC83 Round Getter and for the CD stage, I use a Mullard LP ECC83 Square Getter. There is a bit more speed and extension in the 492s than the Long Plates.
 
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jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,357
5,470
2,810
Manila, Philippines
Yes, the 803s are on top of the 12AX7 variants, imo too.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
I personally do not find any significant difference in sound between the Tele ribbed and smooth plates. Basically I'd say they sound the same. What sounded better were some 'red tip' or 'green tip' tubes I got from Andy Bowman of Vintage Tubes back in the 90s. I said 'wow' to myself. They were tested for 'low noise' and marked with color tips to signify 'best for MC, MM, or line stage' usage. Gold pins Teles are another thing. Mostly there are made with 'milspec', therefore will be more durable and also have low noise. Pushing the 12AX7 envelope to the extreme would be the Tele ECC803s which many years ago tubedepot.com was selling for something like $700 each in while boxes and they were sold out in a few months. They have gold pins and some even have the 'eagle/falcon' logo. I had the opportunity to try 3 pcs in my Jadis JPL line once and the experience was like listening with cleaner ears or viewing a newly cleaned windshield. I have since settled with 1950s Mullard long plate/square getters as it is more suitable to my genre of music - acoustic instruments, jazz trios and female vocals.

Thanks! I agree with you on the ECC803S teles; it seems that Jadis at one time must have supplied them with their amps since all my friends had them. Now I've seen four go for $2000 and on Ebay seen them go for $800 and up apiece.

If only the Ruskies could get their act together but they really don't care.
 

Fred

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2010
296
5
365
Covington, LA
I've been using a Tele ribbed plate in my phonostage and am very, very happy with it. The only other tube that I've compared it to is an RCA Blackplate that is nice, but doesn't possess the top end sparkle or overall resolution as the Tele. Now I just keep my eyes open for decent ribbed plates in order to stockpile a few. (I intend on living a V E R Y long time).
 

jcmusic

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2010
400
6
925
Just Outside New Orleans, La.
Well I too have both style and do not really hear alot of difference in them, however in my phono stage these together are the cat's meow!!!
Just about the most transparent tube I have ever heard!!!

Jay
 

audioblazer

Member Sponsor
May 13, 2010
765
204
1,605
Malaysia
Tried a nos tele ribbed plate on my phono. Didn't quite like it. Probably need more time to burn in. Substituted with mullard cv 4004 mil spec. Prefer it to telefunken ribbed plate. Recently tried a pair of mullard long plate 1959. The best so far. Love the mid range
 

U47

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
161
5
1,575
Portland, Oregon
www.reeltapes.net
TELE 12AX7 Gold pins

I don't think Telefunken ever made a gold pinned 12AX7. The 803s was gold pinned. I've bought and sold hundreds of Telefunken AX7s and have never seen one. "realjazzcat' on ebay is notorious for gold plating and various other forms of 'upsampling' on old tubes. Buyer beware.

R Brown
 

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