One thought on “Siemens CCa/E88CC O-getter Gold Pins”
I did not plan on owning Siemens CCa tubes. Nobody plans on that. You buy a pair “just to see what the fuss is about,” and six months later you are explaining to someone you love why a small glass cylinder costs more than the shoes you are currently wearing.
Here is what I hear, and I have had these in and out of three different amp/preamps now.
The CCa is the most precise small-signal tube I have used, full stop. That word gets thrown around, so let me be specific about what it means in my system. Cymbals stop being a wash of silver and start having a stick, a bell and a decay — three separate events. A double bass has pitch, not just weight. When two backing vocalists sing the same line, I can hear that there are two of them and that one is slightly behind the other. Nothing is exaggerated to achieve this, no vintage sweetness to speak of. The tube simply refuses to smear.
What stands out to me:
Noise floor: the quietest tubes I own. Ear to the tweeter, nothing. This is the foundation everything else sits on.
Imaging: images are small, hard-edged and locked in place. Not a big soft cloud — actual coordinates.
Treble: extended and completely free of grain or glare. It goes up and out rather than forward and at you.
Bass: tight, fast, articulate. Less bloom than a Mullard, considerably more information.
Microphonics: essentially none. I have tapped the chassis harder than I should admit.
If any of that sounds familiar, it should. The tube it reminds me of most is the Telefunken ECC803S and Tesla E83CC, and I do not think that is a coincidence. Both are frame grid designs — a rigid, precisely wound grid structure on a stiff frame, which allows very close grid-to-cathode spacing and tolerances that ordinary tubes cannot hold. Both were built to telecom and industrial specification, where “sounds nice” was never the goal and low noise, low microphonics and stable long life were contractual obligations. Both were made by German engineers who I suspect would be mildly offended to learn we use them for jazz records.
The result is the same essential character: honest, fast, structured, and entirely unsentimental. Neither tube will rescue a bad recording. If you want something to soften a harsh mastering job, the CCa is the wrong hire — it will hand you the harsh mastering job, neatly organized and beautifully lit, and then wait for your reaction. Bring good source material and it is spectacular. Bring a loudness-war remaster and it will make you regret buying it.
They are also, of course, priced like a minor medical procedure, and the fake market is enthusiastic. Buy from someone who tests, and buy a matched pair while matched pairs still exist.
Final verdict: the Siemens CCa is a reference-grade tube and a genuine benchmark for resolution and low noise — the small-signal equivalent of the Telefunken ECC803S, sharing the same frame grid engineering and the same unflinching honesty. Not the tube for warmth, romance, or forgiveness. Absolutely the tube if you want to hear what is actually on the recording. Highly recommended, with the recordings to deserve it.
I did not plan on owning Siemens CCa tubes. Nobody plans on that. You buy a pair “just to see what the fuss is about,” and six months later you are explaining to someone you love why a small glass cylinder costs more than the shoes you are currently wearing.
Here is what I hear, and I have had these in and out of three different amp/preamps now.
The CCa is the most precise small-signal tube I have used, full stop. That word gets thrown around, so let me be specific about what it means in my system. Cymbals stop being a wash of silver and start having a stick, a bell and a decay — three separate events. A double bass has pitch, not just weight. When two backing vocalists sing the same line, I can hear that there are two of them and that one is slightly behind the other. Nothing is exaggerated to achieve this, no vintage sweetness to speak of. The tube simply refuses to smear.
What stands out to me:
If any of that sounds familiar, it should. The tube it reminds me of most is the Telefunken ECC803S and Tesla E83CC, and I do not think that is a coincidence. Both are frame grid designs — a rigid, precisely wound grid structure on a stiff frame, which allows very close grid-to-cathode spacing and tolerances that ordinary tubes cannot hold. Both were built to telecom and industrial specification, where “sounds nice” was never the goal and low noise, low microphonics and stable long life were contractual obligations. Both were made by German engineers who I suspect would be mildly offended to learn we use them for jazz records.
The result is the same essential character: honest, fast, structured, and entirely unsentimental. Neither tube will rescue a bad recording. If you want something to soften a harsh mastering job, the CCa is the wrong hire — it will hand you the harsh mastering job, neatly organized and beautifully lit, and then wait for your reaction. Bring good source material and it is spectacular. Bring a loudness-war remaster and it will make you regret buying it.
They are also, of course, priced like a minor medical procedure, and the fake market is enthusiastic. Buy from someone who tests, and buy a matched pair while matched pairs still exist.
Final verdict: the Siemens CCa is a reference-grade tube and a genuine benchmark for resolution and low noise — the small-signal equivalent of the Telefunken ECC803S, sharing the same frame grid engineering and the same unflinching honesty. Not the tube for warmth, romance, or forgiveness. Absolutely the tube if you want to hear what is actually on the recording. Highly recommended, with the recordings to deserve it.