EIs are not bad sounding tubes. No-one seems to have mentioned the Electro Harmonix tube either, although if pcied for low microphonics, is a very nice sounding tube, even if it is a newly manufactered tube.
Often the Chinese 12AT7 gets denigrated in discussions like this, but I thought it important to point some things out about them: They are very quiet- the most consistant that we have tested. In a phono section this can be a big deal. If also hand-picked for low microphonics, they can rival the sonics of NOS tubes quite easily. One time Albert shipped us his amplifiers, which had Telefunken 12AT7s in it, and we replaced them with the Chinese tube. To our surprise, the Chinese sounded a lot better! We then tested the Telefunken tubes and found that they were testing in the '?' range of the tube tester. Since then we have seen quite a few good-testing Mullards, Siemans and Amperex that got dusted by the lowly Chinese tube...
One thing is for sure- its to your best interest to make sure you are installing a good tube! Make sure that whatever you get can be returned if you are not satisfied!
Often the Chinese 12AT7 gets denigrated in discussions like this, but I thought it important to point some things out about them: They are very quiet- the most consistant that we have tested. In a phono section this can be a big deal. If also hand-picked for low microphonics, they can rival the sonics of NOS tubes quite easily. One time Albert shipped us his amplifiers, which had Telefunken 12AT7s in it, and we replaced them with the Chinese tube. To our surprise, the Chinese sounded a lot better! We then tested the Telefunken tubes and found that they were testing in the '?' range of the tube tester. Since then we have seen quite a few good-testing Mullards, Siemans and Amperex that got dusted by the lowly Chinese tube...
One thing is for sure- its to your best interest to make sure you are installing a good tube! Make sure that whatever you get can be returned if you are not satisfied!