(26 votes, average: 4.27 out of 5)
Loading...“Siemens have better performance in extension, mare transparent and solid sound, great in piano and guitars” Read
“the best out there if you value clarity, dynamics, tonality, and smoothness” Read
3 thoughts on “Siemens 12au7 Chrome Plates”
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Wow, what a solid performer. Absolutely beautiful, delicate vocals with a huge amount of details across the audible band, but at the same time not tiring as some transparent tubes do sometimes. The tube is not as transparent as the kind of the tubes which is 6n30p-DR, but nonetheless – compared to even the best 12au7 tubes, this one is superb. Very beautiful midrange – very inviting and delicate. Put on the top of that brilliant top-end extension and we have a winner. Now, is this a perfect tube? Far from it. It’s incredible for a modern type of music, but when it comes to music from 50-60 it just doesn’t have the dark tone and richness that’s required to play that type of music. For that – Mullard Long plates or Westinghouse black plates will be a better choice.
I was giving the Amperex 7316 LP’s a rest (while giving the Valvo LPs another chance) when these showed up in the mail. Slightly used, but test NOS levels and fully balanced, so they were already broken in nicely. Put them in and the first word out of my mouth was “yes!”. Great dynamics, soundstage cohesion that moves with force, very detailed and clear (with good air). Seemingly “neutral”. So I was enjoying them with electronic music. Really, really enjoying them.
Then I put in my favorite live acoustic session and the first word out of my mouth was “no.” Compared to 7316’s, tthe vocals have a slight annoying twang, don’t transport you to the venue with a deep black background, and aren’t as smooth. Not harsh at all, just not smooth like Amperex. So I mixed them with the 7316’s. Sounded fine, but didn’t quite do the trick.
Amazing tubes for certain music. I guess same theme as described above.
quick update: switched things around and put the 7316’s in the 1st position and these in the 2nd and getting an incredibly interesting sonic signature….smooth, yet vibrant with all of the instruments perfectly behaved and sounding sweet; sounds are emerging from more of a “white background” (but not from noise or excessive air) – just really nice to listen to