2. amps-preamps
  3. 1411308315

What makes Telefunken tubes sound better?

I've reached the point in sampling 12AU7 tubes below $100 per tube where I'm having to buy tube crates to keep the pairs I've sampled. I've tried NOS and new, but out of all I end up back with Telefunkens as having the least distortion and fastest transient response. Yet the Telefunken internals are not the best materials/quality; NOS Mullard CV4003 or the new Gold Lions have higher build quality for materials and precision.

Are there links somewhere that talk to what is different for the internal design/construction of a Telefunken tube? I'd like to support newer tube manufacturers based on educated consumerism, and hope that we can get someone to replace Telefunken at an affordable cost before NOS stock is no longer an option.
128x128davide256
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
It's a good question.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,823 posts
 
I suspect it has to do with the companies size, long history, and demands of the various applications its tubes have been used for over the years.
opus88
530 posts
 
Regardless of how or how well they're made, what do Telefunkens sound better than? Amperexes? Mullards? Siemenses? Brimars? Valvos? No definitive answer.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
It was the war, WWII to be exact. That's when all the really good sounding tubes were made. Radar and communications systems.
davide256's avatar
davide256 OP
395 posts
 
looking for technical details.. was there a particular design, materials or construction principle? What would say of a newer tube "they are emulating how telefunken tubes are constructed"? I can see tube manufacturing differences but which mattered?
More to discover