Quote:
Originally Posted by jdandy
Charles.......I could tell from the comments you were making that you thought these new JJ tubes with their Telefunken logo were somehow still associated with the original Telefunken tubes. That is precisely what JJ Tubes hopes the general public will think. It is also why I remained persistent in trying to explain to you the difference.
Telefunken Germany had no input into the creation of JJ's Telefunken Elektroakustic tube line. Telefunken Germany has been defunct for a long time and hasn't manufactured vacuum tubes for decades. The German engineers at Telefunken long ago took their metallurgy secrets with them. That is one reason why genuine NOS Telefunken tubes such as the highly revered ECC803s (12Ax7) are selling for over $350.00 each or more if you can find them. I saw a single NOS gold pin Telefunken ECC803S on Tube Depot's website for $1195.00. The Telefunken Elektroakustic ECC83-TK sells for $44.00 on Tube Depot. That kind of sums it up if you ask me.
I am not trying to disparage Telefunken Elektroakustic vacuum tubes or their other products. It seems that these tubes are being well received. Only time will tell whether this more expensive version of JJ's rebranded Telefunken Elektroakustic tubes will prove to have greater reliability and longevity than the JJ branded tubes are known for.
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I had figured that if it were the original Telefunken, they were not only reconstituted but diminished as well if they had someone else making their tubes. And, as the info from Telefunken's website says (quoted in post #131) and as I understand it, the Black Diamond's DNA is JJ regardless of whether or not Telefunken Electroakoustic ("TE" from now on) had any input or offered standards for JJ to meet in manufacturing. TE apparently does the testing, vetting and branding, but that's it.
So what I have is a "super" JJ tube of sorts, with a different sound than the JJ ECC803Gs High-Performance tubes that have been my reference (or perhaps put better, "point of comparison"). And so far, they're the only tubes I've used that made any headway with taming the sound of bright CDs without messing with my C2300's tone controls. The switch to Transparent Plus ICs from Kimber Hero for the CD player has made a difference as well. The CDs are still too bright, but that's a limitation of the CDs themselves. And, maybe it makes sense that TE would partner with JJ, since, according to a description on Tube Depot's website, the ECC803Gs "provides a forward sounding, full-bodied low end response with a weighty, dynamic midrange easily compared to the Telefunken ECC803s." I haven't heard the originals, of course, but reviews/comments I've seen elsewhere make the same comparison, and the majority are favorable.
If nothing else, I seem to have confirmed that warmer tubes work best in my setup. The JJ ECC803Gs is the warmest tube I've found. I really don't want to be a tube chaser, and hadn't intended to buy any more, but I was thinking about giving Sovteks a whirl. But that's sheer curiosity at this point, nothing more, as I don't think the Sovteks will be as warm as the JJs.