The "Crown Jewelry" ECC81 tube is here! If you've been seeking the reference tube sound then look no further. Designed for high end amplifiers and preamplifiers, Telefunken ECC81 provides high level gain with ultra low noise and are unquestionably the most sought-after vintage tube and treasured by audio professionals and enthusiasts.
Sound Qualities
Like any other Telefunken tubes, these ECC81's are very pleasant to listen to: liquid, euphonic, with a slightly warmer midrange than many other German tubes, which makes your sound experience smooth and non-fatiguing, and all that happens on a unbelievably realistic holographic sound stage, where everything feels bigger, wider and taller. Sound texture can be felt through infinite levels of details, laying on top of each other, both in depth and in width. So your quest for superb sound clarity can end right here. Lastly, it never gets old to say that no other brand is even close to these when it comes to low noise - Telefunken tubes are "extremely" quiet just as legend has it.
Professional Tube Testing
NO short, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics.
Both tubes tested Super Strong NOS (120%+ nominal mutual conductance) and 100% matched on a reliable and recently calibrated Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following results (mutual conductance in both uMhos and percentage of nominal):
Tube 1: 4,100/4,000 (117%/114%)
Tube 2: 3,600/3,520 (103%/101%)
Good tubes start at 2,000 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 3,500, and the Mercury 2000's rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new tubes is 3,500. Test result can also be seen in the pictures. In case you wonder what all these numbers mean to your sound experience, it's actually quite straightforward: mutual conductance directly translates to a tube's ability to amplify sound, so the higher these numbers the stronger.
Appearance & Cosmetic condition
Beside the fantastic sound signature, we treasure this pair also because both tubes are in pristine cosmetic condition and the Berlin date codes on the side are visible on both tubes:
Tube 1: B2005424 (B = Berlin, 5 = 1965)
Tube 2: B9107624 (B = Berlin, 7 = 1967)
And of course the diamond mark on bottom - the symbol of the best sound one can ever find on ECC81's.
Packaging
This pair of tubes will be packaged in new Telefunken reproduction 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, Mexico, 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 my 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.