Which ECC83 or 12AX7 tubes sound very musical, open and have a lot of warmth?
When it comes to charm and musicality, it is usually hard to get around these tubes:
ECC83 S4A Performance – musical, open, natural, audiophile sonic characteristics, the best all-rounder for tube amplifiers
ECC83 Genalex Gold Lion – similar to ECC83 S4A Performance, but not highly selected
ECC803S JJ – open, but never intrusive, good for frequent listeners – our price tip
Of course, there are also recommendations for musical-sounding NOS ECC83:
ECC83 Telefunken Smooth Plate – lots of warmth, musical, slightly brighter, not intrusive
ECC83 Philips from NL – excellent tube, shows a lot of space and aura and sounds pleasantly musical
ECC83 RSD – affordable NOS tube that plays very musically, openly and naturally