I finished a headphone amp which uses this tube and it sounds surprisingly good. Now I'd like to try the supposedly the best 12AU7 (ECC82) tube - the old Mullard made in Great Britain.
If anybody would sell one for a reasonable price, please contact me. Thanks.
If anybody would sell one for a reasonable price, please contact me. Thanks.
Last edited:
It's the NP-100v12 NP-100v12: DIY 12AU7 (ECC82) Tube / IRF510 MOSFET Headphone Amplifier
Basically it's a simple single ended dual triode followed by a buffer made of mosfets biased into class A. It all runs on 12V, where the tube isn't most linear, but still works really well and since the whole amp draws around 400mA max, you can use a lm317 followed by a low noise low drop regulator like a TPS7A4700 to get really clean power.
It's also very cheap, because it's a cheap tube and you only need one and you don't need the output transformer, since the mosfet buffer allows for connecting low impedance headphones with no problems. It's also powerfull enough to drive high impedance headphones.
I'm not saying it's high end, but it surely is price/performance hard to beat. I built it just to try and make something with a tube in it once and I really like it. 🙂
There is also a thread on this forum:
Hybrid headphone amp with 12AU7/ECC82 IRF510 and LM317
It's also a nice project for someone using tubes for the first time - It's simple and 12V won't kill you. 😉
Best Regards, sl1
Basically it's a simple single ended dual triode followed by a buffer made of mosfets biased into class A. It all runs on 12V, where the tube isn't most linear, but still works really well and since the whole amp draws around 400mA max, you can use a lm317 followed by a low noise low drop regulator like a TPS7A4700 to get really clean power.
It's also very cheap, because it's a cheap tube and you only need one and you don't need the output transformer, since the mosfet buffer allows for connecting low impedance headphones with no problems. It's also powerfull enough to drive high impedance headphones.
I'm not saying it's high end, but it surely is price/performance hard to beat. I built it just to try and make something with a tube in it once and I really like it. 🙂
There is also a thread on this forum:
Hybrid headphone amp with 12AU7/ECC82 IRF510 and LM317
It's also a nice project for someone using tubes for the first time - It's simple and 12V won't kill you. 😉
Best Regards, sl1
Last edited:
I have used the 12au7 many times in amps and mixers.
Its a bit easier to tame than the 12ax7 which is very high gain.
May I ask what makes Mullard ECC82's that outstanding in comparison to others, especially to those from other plants within the Philips company?
Best regards!
Best regards!
Hi Kay Pirinha,
Nothing scientifically proven. I've just been reading on the internet about this tube and old Mullard (not new release) was the most frequently praised as being the best. It's all completely subjective.
Nothing scientifically proven. I've just been reading on the internet about this tube and old Mullard (not new release) was the most frequently praised as being the best. It's all completely subjective.
Of course there are many medium µ double triodes that outperform the ubiquituous 12AU7/ECC82. The OP has quested about this tube, though.
Best regards!
Best regards!
Matejsirk, I'll probably try and tweak this amp a little and trying to use some ecc82 "replacements" like 6350 seems like a good idea. Thanks. 😉
The first thing would probably be to separate psu lines for the plate, heaters and mosfets, so that I can raise the plate voltage to 200V.
Then I can try some other dual triode tubes. Maybe it would make sense to use separate tubes for each channel? Doesn't 2 triodes in the same tube mean bigger channel crosstalk?
And I'm complicating... The options are endless...
The first thing would probably be to separate psu lines for the plate, heaters and mosfets, so that I can raise the plate voltage to 200V.
Then I can try some other dual triode tubes. Maybe it would make sense to use separate tubes for each channel? Doesn't 2 triodes in the same tube mean bigger channel crosstalk?
And I'm complicating... The options are endless...
- Status
- Not open for further replies.