Radiotechnique 12AU7 Platinum Grade / No Cryo Reviews

4.9 Rating 51 Reviews

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Phone:

909.931.9686

Email:

joel.m@upscaleaudio.com

Location:

2058 Wright Avenue,
2058 Wright Avenue
California
91750

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“Oh I have all the best NOS tubes and this particular tube is the very best of the best. Most rollers will experience the old "Like I never heard my stereo before". It unveils even the most masked music. I will say the tubes from Upscale are of a quality unequaled anywhere. I will let you all know the price for a tube is no object to me and I will be paying large to keep this tube in my preamp. Best NOS 12ax7 anywhere, Tube Guru Rules.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“These French tubes work beautifully with my open, airy Focal Diablo Utopia speakers and Rogue Audio amplification. They reveal the delicate colors and subtleties of Debussy or Ravel, but can also do wonders with the dense orchestrations of Wagner and Bruckner. An excellent choice for lovers of great music.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“This is my first NOS tube. I am using two of them as the pre-amp tubes in a push-pull integrated amplifier. I was skeptical at first about NOS tubes because of their high price. However after buying this tube and trying it out, I can tell you it is worth every penny I paid for it, and more. This tube sounds absolutely fantastic in my amp. I am so happy I bought a them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Uncle Kevvy is the man, he know his tubes, slowly my system lost it's mojo, was thinking didn't it used to sound better??? Dropped a couple of these in my Klimo Merlin preamp and WOW, the biggest improvement I ever heard in my system. Improved in every way, and these tubes are not overly warm, they are wonderful. Thanks Uncle Kevvy!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“The English have a certain way with words and gobsmacked is a particularly good word to describe my gut reaction. I purchased the Mullard CV4004 along with the Radiotechnique 12au7 for my Cayin HA1A headphone/speaker amp. Others have more eloquently described their experience with this combo so I will just say I agree with everything you will read in these reviews. I am a casual audiophile with a relatively modest system cobbled together over the years. If you are like me, you have champagne ears on a beer budget, and when you upgrade you cannot afford expensive trial and error. You need to get it right the first time. Spending $300 bucks on 2 tubes seems like self indulgent lunacy... and it is! BUT, for less than the price of my best power cord (and I am VERY pleased with my best PC) The improvement to my system is nothing short of incredible. The cool thing is that all my sources sound better because everything goes through this amp. Talk about bang for the buck! So if you are into self indulgent lunacy (as in you are an audiophile) then you should try these tubes.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“What glorious tubes these are. I was expected the wonderful warm midrange but not the detail and the amount of presence displayed. Paired with MULLARD 12AU7 the sound was warm but the treble lacked a little sparkle and the lower tones just a bit too warm. Paired with RADIOTECHNIQUE 12AU7 rectified this the highs now extended with just enough sparkle and bite and the base now was tight deep with lots of drive. Rhythm and timing now excellent. In my system this is a marriage made in heaven. I had thought the RADIOTECNIQUE was very good but this combo showed I had underestimated its talents. What are we going to do when these wonderful old tubes disappear.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

“Tube produces very clear, detailed sound. Has good mids, excellent highs. Was a bit disappointed in the low performance, but depending on the type of music you're listening to this may not matter. I used this in a bottlehead crack tube amp with DT 990 pro headphones.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago

“After a couple weeks in a Marshall Custom Offset (JTM1) amp the Radiotechnique 12AU7 proves killer as a low wattage power tube. As with the JCM1, the difference was instantly noticeable. Dead quiet even at full volume with guitar pot off. This model of Marshall has the least preamp gain, most of the growl comes from the power tube. The tubes provided by Marshall were an upgrade from normal stock and had good response and tone. Upgrade with a UA GL platinum in V1, Northern Electric in V2, and the Radiotechnique 12AU7 Cryo for power - the amps tone is so rich and controllable even with only 1 tone knob and 1 "loudness" knob. Tried other vintage strong 12au7s including Mullard and RT stood out. Cryo treatment should provide longer life over other running in the hard use as a Marshall power tube. Given the difference in preamp of the JTM1 over JCM1, feel the RT shows even more tonal character in the JTM circuit. More headroom and richer addictive power tube OD. What is most surprising is the tone keeps getting better as the tube is breaking in. More hours on the JCM1 has had same result, but the RT really shows it's superiority in the simpler JTM circuit.”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 years ago