Telefunken ECC801S

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Among the tube-rolling cognoscenti what are the details and specifications to look for when comparing and purchasing a pair set or a quad set of NOS Telefunken ECC801S tubes?

Which of these are the very best?

How much does the year of manufacture matter? Are tube vintages like wine vintages? Do tubes made in a particular year in the 1960s sound better than tubes made in a different year in the 1960s? Which is the best year?

Does it matter if the tubes were made in the same German factory?

Does it matter in which factory the tubes were manufactured? Which is the best factory?

Does it matters if tubes in a pair set or a quad set have matching serial numbers?

What does the "triple mica" specification mean?

What does the "diamond" -- <> -- designation mean?

Are some Telefunken ECC801s both "diamond" and "triple mica"? Are those the best tubes?

How closely should plate resistance and other electrical charateristics be matched?

Which is the best-sounding NOS vintage Mullard equivalent of the ECC801S?
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
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181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
Ron, I am hoping to get some of the members thoughts about this subject on the thread that I started...http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...different-types-but-what-are-your-preferences
Your thread will hopefully answer the questions about the Telefunken ECC801's. Nonetheless, I think the question of which tube is preferred will naturally depend on the tube compliment that your gear requires.
All of the older NOS tubes have their adherents and their naysayers; although I believe compared to perhaps all of the current stock EH's and reissues, the NOS tubes are all a step up in SQ.
 

Uk Paul

Member Sponsor
Sep 27, 2012
516
183
955
UK
No experience with 801s but plenty with 802s, of several variants, always clean and polished sound. But as Davey says, it's all circuit and system dependant Ron, and part of the fun of tube based audio. So much of the 'sound' of any particular tube can be masked if the circuit is overly complex or too many tubes used, simple works well..

And as Steve points out, there's probably more fake Tele's than any other tube.
 

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