(20 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading...“The long plate tube pretty much sounds like a long plate Amperex 12AU7/ECC82 of the same vintage, which is softer/more lush.” Read
“The Amperex 7316s don’t sound as good as the much more common and real world priced Siemens 12AU7s in my amp” Read
Finally received the tubes and had a chance to to listen to Amperex 7316 Long Plates with D-getter Foil, I have to say – DARN!!! that tube is the best thing that I’ve ever had a pleasure to listen to – just remember that I tried pretty much every tube type out there. I played for about 2 hours flipping between Amperex 12au7 BB Long Foil and that tube and at first it was not very obvious that 7316 was better, but the more I listened to that tube the less I wanted to listen to 12au7 (remember I was in love with 12au7 – love is such a flimsy thing Smiley So two hours later with my ears bleeding – wait – I meant my ears smiling with pleasure – it was hands down 7316. The amount of undertones that tube communicated was just phenomenal and the gentleness that it carried female voice with was just unbelievable – amount of details was also through the roof – there were passages in songs that I listened to for 200-300 times that I didn’t hear before!!!! It appears that there is more air to the sound of 7316 and bass is more balanced than 12au7 (some of you might be disappointed by the fact, since the bass is not superbly pronounced – like it is in Mullard or RCA BP – it’s lighter and IMHO is much more balanced). So there, if you come across a pair at 2 am in the morning for a great price, take it!!! This will be the last tube you will be rolling Smiley
Interestingly enough, after the listening session, we did blind testing, between Mullard 12au7 LP, Amperex 12au7 LP and Amperex 7316 LP. It was extremely easy to separate both Amperexes and Mullard – proving that despite some opinions that 12au7 & 7316 from the same era (both tubes were from Harleen factory made in 1958) sound the same – they sound very differently.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
I was listening to the “Bugle Boy 12au7 Long Plate D Getter w/ Foil Strip” fora bout a week before swapping the 7316 long plates in. The first thing that grabbed me really was they sounded more agile, more musical, and a quieter background. Then as I sat for a while, started to notice the increase in air and detail, as well as a taller soundstage. The inner detail, and the ability for images fade in and out beautifully, adds to magic.
I think they’re king of the 12au7 tube type. The way voices extend and soar all the way through to the very end without a single negative characteristic is a thing of beauty. Not only do they soar out into the room, they do so with body and thickness (not thin and airy like some of the better known german tubes).
I have the Mazda Chrome Plate and the Siemens (the good ones) on the way. Not expecting them to beat these out. Might mix them in for something interesting, but we’ll see.