EI ECC83- thoughts, comments, advice

[heiney9]

EI-Elektronska Industrija ECC83

Awesome sounding 12ax7 from pre-war Yugo...

Ei Yugoslavia bought all of the old Telefunken stock and equipment in the 1970s, and produced these tubes, identical to original Telefunken smoothplates! These were about the best to come out of Eastern Europe in the late 1970s, they even flash orange when energized like the vintage Europe tubes do. Available under several labels as Edicron, RSD, National, Trigon. Tight-matched pairs available.

I found a source for these and was wondering A) anyone have any listening impressions. B) is the above story legit?

Looking for a lower cost, great sounding tube for the 12AX7 position in the new Norh amp I'll be receiving later this week. This is for a secondary rig and I'm not spending hundreds on tubes for it, but I want something different than current porduction tubes.

I have it on good authority (DKG999) the current production Svotek 12AX7 is a nice sounding tube, thoughts?

I know other EI tubes get good reviews from people on CP, but what about these?

H9

[RuSsMaN]

I've heard the Yugo's vs REAL TF's and the difference for me was obvious, TF's shining hands down. Out of the current production, the Sovtek 12AX7LPS is probably the best of the bunch, just make sure you get that LPS designation.

Cheers,
Russ

[heiney9]

Thanks Russ just the kind of info I was looking for

How about 50's Raytheon Black plates with my choice of "D" getter or Windmill Getter I believe they are 5751's. Biggest concern with the 5751's is the fact that they are lower gain than the 12AX7 and the Norh uses a passive pre-amp section so I'm afraid there won't be enough gain with 5751's

H9

[F1nut]

I prefer the Ei's over the Tele's or anything else in my Jolida CDP.

The story you quoted is correct.

[heiney9]

I can get closely matched NOS pairs with the Edicron label for $64 plus shipping from a European tube dealer.

That seems to be a pretty good deal for these Ei's. I like Tele's in other applications that I have (ECC85, 12AT7, ECC801S) but even a used pair of Tele ECC83 smooth plates is up over $100+ on average.

H9

[RuSsMaN]

I wouldn't worry about the gain, which Norh are you aquiring, the SE9 or 18? The SE9 is setup like you mention, iirc - but any modern CDP will have more than enough output to drive that amp to it's limits. I think the 5751's might be a neat choice to roll through there.

Cheers,
Russ

[dkg999]

Ei Elite Gold Pin 12ax7's are what I use in my Jolida CDP. Great sounding tubes. I have the Sovtek 12ax7LPS in my Pro-ject phono pre and they are dead quiet and throw a huge soundstage. They were very close to some uber-expensive RCA black-plates in that application. As Russ said, that LPS designation makes a big difference.

Call Jim McShane, use whatever he recommends, be happy and enjoy the music!

[DAGLJAM6]

Sovtek 12ax7LPS

+1

[heiney9]

Hey Dave, are the Sovtek's what you are sending with the Norh SE9? If they are maybe I'll just grab a pair of the Raytheon 5751's and be done with it for awhile.

I got your PM and send those spare tubes whenever you get a chance, no hurry even it's a few weeks down the road or whatever.

Thanks again, maybe you want to start a dummy FS thread so we can leave each other some sales feedback.

H9

[reeltrouble1]

those Sovtek are pretty damm good, I used them the Dodd MLP, had to go to Telefunken Smooth plates to get a better sounding tube. I think I have some NOS GE 5751 laying around.

RT1

[DAGLJAM6]

Hey Dave, are the Sovtek's what you are sending with the Norh SE9? If they are maybe I'll just grab a pair of the Raytheon 5751's and be done with it for awhile.

I got your PM and send those spare tubes whenever you get a chance, no hurry even it's a few weeks down the road or whatever.

Thanks again, maybe you want to start a dummy FS thread so we can leave each other some sales feedback.

H9

Nope the initial set is a pair of JAN Phillips 12ax7's but i'll look for the others later this week.......

[heiney9]

Here's what I've decided because anyone who has followed any of my tube journey's can see I get quite obsessed with buying all different kinds of tubes to roll and end up spending more on tubes than the gear costs sometimes.

I will listen to the tubes that come with the Norh SE9 and then I will try these.

1/pr SED EL34 Winged "C" new from a dealer
1/pr Sovtek 12AX7LPS new from a dealer.

Then perhaps if a pair of Mullards or Tele EL34's come to my attention. I'd like to try Siemens or RFT's as well.

But, that's it. Not going crazy buying tubes for this amp. That's the plan anyway :)

H9