12au7 tube?

I settled on Radiotechnique in my Backert preamp. I thought they were made by Mazda but perhaps I'm wrong.  They just edge out the Cifte's that I also have and which I'm pretty sure were made by Mazda.

Amperex is great too: a tad warmer, whereas Radiotechnique gives you a little more "air".

I didn't get on well with Brimars because of reliability problems but perhaps that was just bad luck.

I tried a pair of Psvane ART series a while ago and thought them the best of new production that I tried (Mullard and Gold Lion), but prefer NOS.  No problems with the Psvane but two tubes in a preamp for not too long is hardly a representative sample.

Question: has anyone tried the Apos Ray 12AU7, which seems to be the new kid on the block making a few waves.

@twoleftears 

I forgot all about them.  They came on like gang busters advertising everywhere and then just stopped. I’ll be listening to hear what answers you get.

Oh and thanks for jogging my memory.😊

Hello AudioJan, came across your topic from the list that is sent to me weekly by audiogon. Saw an interest in your question about 12au7.  I’ve rolled that tube for years and have a huge inventory of the finest and best 12au7’s ever made. I didn’t read all the responses to your question but I saw many responses in which I feel were correct. I’ve found for myself that many 12au7’s can sound more transparent and revealing than other brands. Some are more musical and some more detailed. I’ve also discovered that the “holy grail” of a tube may not necessarily be the tube that sounds best in your setup even though it might be the clearest and most revealing.  When I’m looking to tweak and make adjustments to perfect my sound, I’ll try the many various 12au7’s I have in stock, (somewhere around 60-70 different brands NOS).  I happen to be bias in that I prefer older 12au7’s tubes from the 1950-1980’s. I may go through 1-10 different brands till I find the tube that sounds right even though I’m dealing with some of the very best ever made. Point is, you definitely want to begin evaluating with a great tube to hear if it’s gonna sound good but to find the perfect one for your system, you’ll need to try as many as you can. Unfortunately there’s no easy way around this. Me and my buddies have been rolling tubes for years and no-one can really tell you what will be the right tube for you in a particular component because that component is part of a complete system that all the other parts of that system  will all be contributing it’s own sound. There are forums online that specifically talk about tubes and tube types. One that I’ve used many years ago is “Tubes Asylum”.  You can put the type tube you want information on and can read many online responses to that type tube. 

@lowtubes with your expertise in 12au7 tubes, I wonder if you could help clarify something touched on here and something I’m still a little unsure of.  Regarding vintage Amperex, Mazda and Radiotechnique, generally who made what for who? I guess I could ask some of online sellers of vintage tubes but since you’re here and they’re not a clarification could also be helpful to some of the other participants of this thread.

50”s VALVO.