Item Tag: ECC82 12AU7

Product Summary Compared to their 45° angled big brother, these “ultra clarity” tubes are much more merciful at lossy digital sound sources such as high-definition streaming video/audio. Yet distortion in lossy sound during playback can still be heard. Dedicated CD transport or lossless playback on PC/Mac (not on mobile devices) are recommended if you want to fully unleash these tubes’ amazing power in your system. Phono, if available, is highly recommended to be used as sound source because analog input is lossless by definition. Sound Qualities To get everyone on the same page, we will be comparing these to the Hamburg-made Valvo ECC82’s with the regular getter support only, which is already an excellent choice for audiophiles looking for distinctive German tube sound: the grip is tighter with a great deal of substance added to the overall sound presentation, especially to the midrange, which feels much warmer and more intimate; the 30° getter support seems to have “bent” the sound stage as well and you are presented with a flattened panoramic view of the sound stage, which is holographic but much wider and holds so much more information: everything can be heard (or rather “seen”), whether you knew they existed before or not, or whether you think they should exist or not; the naturalness of sound is not heard on any other tubes in the sense that these tubes tell you what IS and what IS NOT in your sound, e.g. you can tell the sound of natural rain in some movies from the sound of fake rain (water poured from hoses above the stage) in other movies; the clarity of sound is “clinical” – as in how your doctor would say you are either sick or not sick and absolutely no muddiness or ambiguity in between should be allowed – perhaps that’s why they can get punishing (luckily not as much as the 45° angled version) to lossy digital sound sources; the musicality is unequalled as by now the only thing left in your music for you to hear is EVERYTHING in your music as long as the sound source is right. Professional Sound Evaluation The pair worked wonderfully and sounded terrific in our professional studio setup for monitoring. – Input: Cambridge Audio CXC V2 dedicated CD transport + Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC – Amplification: Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies (3rd gen) Balanced Headphone Amplifier – Output: Focal Clear MG Pro open-back headphones Our full tube sound review was written 100% based on the actual listening experience while this pair of tubes were running in the system described above. Professional testing & sound evaluation This set was tested and certified by RoeTest V11 tester with the following result: Tube 1: Measured transconductance (GM): 1.38/1.39 mA/V – 63%/63% (100% = 2.20 mA/V)Measured plate current (IA): 7.27/7.877 mA – 69%/75% (100% = 10.50 mA) Tube 2: Measured transconductance (GM): 1.59/1.48 mA/V – 72%/67% (100% = 2.20 mA/V)Measured plate current (IA): 7.135/6.52 mA – 68%/62% (100% = 10.50 mA) NO shorts, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics. Curve trace is also included in the original RoeTest report. Appearance & cosmetic condition Besides the world-class sound characteristics, we treasure this pair also because the excellent condition of inscriptions on the tubes given its age. The identical 3-letter (Pre-1961 Hamburg date code is 100% visible on both tubes: K62 D7K (k62 = ECC82 Production gen #2, D = Hamburg, Germany, 7 = 1957, K = November)K62 D8B (k62 = ECC82 Production gen #2, D = Hamburg, Germany, 8 = 1958, B = February) Packaging New reproduction Valvo tube boxes. Shipping Policy – US Shipping: Flat-rate USPS Ground Advantage – International Shipping: (Please read carefully) USPS First Class International is used for all countries EXCEPT: Armenia, Chile, China, India, Latvia, Mauritius, Serbia, Slovenia, Tuvalu, and Vietnam. If you prefer to use a different carrier or shipping service, please contact us first so we can establish shipping rates before you make payment. If you are a buyer in one of the excluded countries, you must contact us prior to purchase to arrange shipping. Soundlumia-sponsored 3-day guaranteed worldwide delivery program ($35 flat rate for ALL destinations in the world) via DHL Express is highly recommended to serious and committed buyers. – Same day shipping: Orders placed by 2:00PM US Pacific Time on weekdays are posted on the same day, otherwise the next business day. – Combined shipping available – request invoice for total before making payment or receive shipping credit after order ships. Return Policy – Please READ carefully Returns are acceptable if we made a mistake by delivering you wrong or defective products. Tubes we sell are guaranteed to work because we run professional tests and sound evaluation TWICE: before they are approved for listing AND before we ship them to customers. So the “defective item” case doesn’t exist and please do not bother trying – this type of returns will NOT be accepted without proof that tubes are faulty and we will open disputes with eBay. Sound experience is very subjective and we do NOT accept returns because you do not like the tube’s sound signature or because you changed your mind about your purchase. Please contact us to work things out before submitting return requests claiming “item is defective” or “item not as described” or “just didn’t like it” or “changed your mind.” Tube rollers abusing the return system will be reported to eBay immediately and negative feedback will be left to your account – that’s guaranteed. We have already opened several dispute cases to report abusive buyers and eBay has always ruled in our favor. International buyers who request return or refund claiming your country’s import duties or sales taxes/VAT/GST are too high will be reported to eBay immediately for dishonesty and will be permanently blacklisted from purchasing from Soundlumia. We are committed to working closely with eBay to help rid the marketplace of dishonest, unjust, unreasonable, abusive buyers that are detrimental to the vintage tubes market and the audiophile community.

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