Best 12AU7?

olds1959special

As already mentioned, reach out to Brent Jessee.....he's the best tube provider I've ever used. He carries a great stock of tubes, but he doesn't give them away. The best 12AU7 tubes are expensive, so be prepared

STAY AWAY from re-issue tubes, go with NOS only

For emphasis on treble (as you indicated) I'd look at: Amperex (Holland made versions) 7316 1950s/1960s, Amperex E800CC/6085 (check with your amp manufacturer that these are okay to use), RCA "black ribbed plate", RCA "clear tops", German Telefunken ECC82s but these are really expensive.....I have only 1 pair.

@olds1959special 

I just bought a PS Audio preamp that uses 12au7’s in its input section. I put out a

some feelers and was given advice from A to Z. So far I’ve tried the PSVANE Art Series, the New Release Tung-Sol  the Gold Lions and some NOS RCA Clear Tops.

To my ears, The PSVANE Art Series were just okay. The Gold Lion were definitely better. The Tung-Sol and the RCA Clear Tops are definitely the best so far, but I want to give the top three tubes 100 hours of play before I A/B them again.

BTW, what are you using them on?

I have the following NOS tubes: 

Brimar CV4003 (upscale audio)

Siemens silver plate (eBay)

Telefunken medical red tips (Brent Jesse)

I prefer the Brimar’s for their overall smoothness, but for your preference the Siemens. Everyone seems to love Tele’s, but IMHO the Tele’s are too forward.

@curiousjim 

I am using a single 12AU7 in a Hagerman Baritone tube buffer. So far, the new Tung Sol tube is working well for me in this circuit. I've tried:

new Tung-Sol 12AU7W

new Mullard 12AU7 (stock tube)

nos RCA 12AU7 cleartop

nos RCA 5814a black plate tri mica

nos GE 5814a grey plate