Name your NEW Re-Issue 12au7, 12at7, 12ax7 tubes (your favorites, and why?)

"@buellrider97 I have about a dozen pairs of nice nos 12AU7’s for my line stage pre"

Curious to know of your other NOS vintage tubes, what is a close 2nd or 3rd to your "new" Tung Sols?

The reason I ask is I also have the new Mullard 12au7s and they are "supposed to be the same tube as the new re-issue Tung Sols with a different label" made in the same factory.  I've compared them quite a bit to my paris of NOS, PSVANE, and others.  They DO have extra body and weight to the sound, a bit more rolled off on top than ALL of my vintage 12au7s, a tad less depth and transparency, with less texture, as a tradeoff - in my two mono amps.  My amps were originally internally biased with these new tubes, and the amp designer thought they sounded "good".

I wonder if you simply found an ideal match for your components - and that's really great if so!  If yes, kinda proves its worth trying a few different tubes to get there :)

@decooney , unfortunately I’m a neophyte currently in regards to the 12AX7’s as I have the new production Tung Sol’s and the Telefunkens. My experience thus far is limited to 12AU7’s and the 6DJ8/6N1P/ ECC88 tubes plus some power and rectifier tubes. In regards to the 12AU7’s , I purchased a Rogue RP-1 and a Had Inspire 8-9 years ago to power some Zu Omens fed with a Schiit Yiggy DAC. The RP-1 came with standard issue JJ’s which I thoroughly broke in. I first tried RCA JRC 6189’s , and liked the improvement. I then went Tekefunken and wow ! Then I tried some Hammond labeled Mullards and it sounded like someone threw a blanket over my system, like when we hit the Dolby button on the cassette deck. 😆 I then tried the Seimens Nickle plates and they are just like Tekefunkens but the top 25-30% of the frequency range is more forward and too bright for me system in my room. I’ve also tried Tungsram and EI. In my Had amp it has a single 6DJ8 input tube and I’ve tried Seimens CCa, Philips SQ ,Mullard ( labeled GE ), Philips ecg, Vashod. I learned early on the I liked the Tekefunken sound and stayed on that path. I currently have a quad of Telefunkens in G-73r, Tektronix and standard smooth plates. Also a quad of Seimens Nickle plates, the RCA’s and the Mullards. I have not tried Mazda, Brimar, Amperex pinched waist. Until recently I ran the Had amp and I acquired 7-8 pairs of nos power tubes and 5-6 nos rectifier tubes. In switching to new to me Rogue M-180’s and the Hera pre I’m now looking at running 22 tubes and seriously looking at new production tubes. The Hera takes 8 6H1P’s and Russian Rockets are $200-300 per , I’m running Sovtek. Ha ha. So I’m listening intently on input to a very applicable question. Cheers to all , Mike B. 

"@buellrider97 looking at new production tubes."

Yep, exactly, there it is. How I sorta got here too, wondering if I’d be trapped with keeping a big stash of vintage small tubes or would I finally convert myself to all new/re-issue production.  Possibly the same conclusion many new amp builders came to about five years ago, it seemed. 

Example, reference: VAC Statement 450 amplifier 

• Output Tubes: 8 x KT88 (typically Genalex Gold Lion)
• Driver/Input Tubes: 5 x 6SN7 (typically Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB)

Outstanding question:

Do todays new-amp designers start with these new/re-issue tubes now days and then ear tune, tune, re-tune, and keep fooling with the circuit and components (like Dennis does), until it sounds right. My DH Triode Hot Rod amp came with all Tung-Sol too, fwiw. Clearly he's seemed to figure out how to work around the situation.    

I haven’t talked to Dennis in a while, he’s definitely a gentleman and just wants people to enjoy music with a reasonable effort. I contacted him one time as I wanted to try nos Tung Sol 6550’s and he advised me to get the 3 hole ones as the others were not compatible. I must say that with nos GEC’s a Tekefunken E88CC and a vintage Coke bottle rectifier it’s amazing ! But it sounds great in any configuration. When I asked about all the exotic nos power tubes he recommended  new production JJ KT-77’s , he said they’re very inexpensive and highly musical. Yes I’m definitely concerned about new tube availability. Rogue sold me an octet of Psvane KT-88’s and highly recommended avoiding new Tung Sol KT-120’s due to reliability issues. Their Dark upgrade no longer provides nos signal tubes due to reliability, availability and yes cost. I’m hoping your thread will bare fruit otherwise I’ll have to buy multiple quads of new 12AU7’s for my power amps. I bought enough ammo for my final years , but not enough tubes. I quit buying Cuban cigars because the prices became ridiculous. Cheers , Mike. 

Unless I missed it, I'm surprised no has mentioned Ray Tubes and Spatial Audio really likes the brand!

https://raytubes.audio/collections/select