So they arrived!! My initial thoughts on Telefunken E88CC from Upscale:
1. Tele E88CC: They are wonderful and deserve their excellent reputation.
2. Amperex 6922 PQ US White Label: I found the Amperexes (heretofore) my favorite for nuanced, delicate intonations on piano keyboards...but certainly got noisy from being in the CJ GAT for more than 6 months. Their more delicate balance allowed for more subtleties to be revealed than with 3, 4 or 5 below.
3. Sovtek 6922: rough, like cheap vodka. Nyet.
4. JAN Phillips: For the money, no finer....similar DNA to the Amperex, but unfortunately incredibly microphonic. Spoke with a dealer and manufacturer...both agreed about the microphony. FAR better with EAT tube dampers, but other than the fact that they're 1/10th the price of the first 2, i still could not do it. But they are truly musical and worth it if i could find quieter ones.
5. Mullard CV2493: On their own, not at all the honey'd, grey flannel sound that often comes with the Mullard reputation. Muscular, powerful...and HARD somewhat unforgiving. Hard piano strikes are merciless and flat. Put on an EAT tube damper, and somehow, this hardness disappeared...still powerful, even more linear sounding than before, but somehow the strong signal comes through straighter, cleaner without some kind of over-hyped hardness. Dont ask me to explain...i found them very very good after EAT tube dampers.
Compared with Amperex, more powerful mids, less nuanced, a bit stiffer, and less detailed but more propulsive bass energy. And much, much quieter (very little hiss at 3 feet after a few months...none when brand new)
Dealer struggled to find quiet ones, but when he did find them, they lasted at least 12-18 months.
6. Back to Teles: Relative to the above, the Telefunkens are as quiet as the Mullards (so far)...hopefully they are at least as robust. They seem more detailed, nuanced like the Amperexes but with a much more straight-up delivery (which i prefer in many cases) than the Amperex which perhaps might almost 'lilt' a bit too much from time to time.
The BASS is FAR more articulate than the Mullard...entire note sections from complex deep house electronic are far better delineated and in a couple cases, a bass line or 2 are revealed anew. How nice!
And the bass is far more propsulsive than the Amperex.
The ONLY area where i still prefer the Mullard is on piano keys in the upper midrange above Middle C...i think Mullard might artificially push the mid forward just a teeny tiny bit...but that helps recreate the illusion of the keyboard strike which i am used to after studying piano for 12 years. Bear in mind, i have tirelessly tuned my system to my ear...every cable, every piece of isolation (well over 50-60 pieces of isolation).
Fortunately, this Middle C attack with the Telefunkens is a bit lite by maybe '3%'...enough to notice, but not enough to stop enjoying...particularly with loads more improvements in the bass and generally a much cleaner attack in the treble.
Winner: Telefunken. Will see over the next day or so what happens to piano strike above Middle C.
