I’m diggin the Telefunken’s Steve. They sound great. Great detail and definition. Silky smooth. And very good tonality and soundstage.
Only have the Telefunken’s, the Gold Lion gold pins, and the ‘stock’ Mullard long plates Jim included. Ya know, I’m now somewhat surprised Jim picked the Mullards. Good tubes, but a couple weeks ago, just for giggles and interest, put the Mullards back in to check out. Immediately the music was a ‘thicker’ and darker ‘tuby’ presentation, and the soundstage really closed-in compared to the Gold Lion’s. Then tried a mix of those, and finally put the Gold Lion’s back in complete. I think Jim may be better served with a new Tung-Sol or JJ maybe, or even the Gold Lion non-gold pin version. The cost would be similar to the Mullards.
The Gold Lion’s are pretty good tubes though in comparison to the Telefunken’s. But, twice the cost of the Mullards, and half what I paid for the Teles. Comparing the two though, the Gold Lion’s do sound more ‘grainy’ than the Telefunken’s, but still not bad. And not bad for the money.
