Svetlana 12AX7 Preamp Vacuum Tube
From our review: "I find the Svetlana 12AX7 preamp tube to sound a bit smoother than the 12AX7EH and it has less gain than the Tungsol 12AX7 vacuum tube. If you are not inspired by the Electro Harmonix and also find the Tungsol too grainy then this is the 12AX7 tube you want to give a chance. It has everything you want in a good pre-amp. Low noise, no microphonics issues, and very clear and open without being too bright."
This new production tube is manufactured at the New Sensor Corp. owned Xpo-Pul factory (also known as Reflektor) in Saratov, Russia. Use it to replace all other 12AX7, ECC83, and 7025 tube types. Solid construction and build quality and all test great on our equipment.
Not to be confused with the older Winged "C" version, this one is of far better quality.
One other note about the construction of these tubes is they have filaments that are almost completely encased in the plate structure. They don't "light up" brightly when working properly.
Other Svetlana tubes 
12AX7 TypesAdditional Information and Downloads
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12AX7 Tube Review
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Warranty Information and Return Policy
Warranty Period: 3 monthsAll our tubes are guaranteed for 3 months from the date of purchase. (Any exceptions will be noted on that tube's Warranty tab)
If you receive a tube that does not perform to the manufacturer's specifications, please do the following:
- contact us to get a return authorization
- return it via regular mail within 90 days from when we shipped it, and we will provide an exchange or refund of the full purchase price of the tube.
Returns not related to warranty or defect will be considered at our discretion, and are subject to a 15% restocking fee.
We can not accept returns that don't have an authorization, are past 3 month, or are returned improperly.
These guidelines may be updated without notice.
Ratings & Reviews
21 reviews
Svetlana 12AX7 | Svetlana is to high gain stages as Sovtek LPS is to PIs. Always sounds the best.
by Tim
These NSV-12AX7 are much like the tone of the original Winged C versions which is a good thing.
They are the ultimate tube for the final gain stage of a high gain channel (i.e. 3rd 12ax7).
The reasons why is it seems to simplify the harmonics, almost like built in negative feedback loop which keeps the sizzle to a minimum, it's also very tight and very smooth, fluid and sweet on the top end all at the same time.
The flip side is this has little detail in V1, horrible for guitar, but for bass it's super firm and smooth.
High-end detail of EH but slightly more gentle sounding
by jsender -
I recently got 6 different new-production 12AX7 tubes out of curiosity to compare in a PAiA tube-head. For my personal preference, this Svetlana was my favorite, then EH > Psvane Gold > TungSol > Sovtek > unnamed "Made in China".
The Svetlana and EH were VERY similar, but the Svetlana had a more relaxed high end without sacrificing detail, and a more pleasant sounding breakup. Great sounding tube! Will definitely be my new go-to for new production 12AX7.
Very NOS
by Adam -
As the main review says, these are generally clear and open. But in my experience, they can also be fat and warm, depending on what you’re running them with. They remind me very much of a particular vintage tube that as I understand it, became very popular as a replacement when RCA and Mullards became hard to find. I have a few of those particular tubes, and these are almost indecipherable.
Surprisingly Good Low Cost Option
by Mark F
This tube and the Preferred Series 7025 are currently my two favorite preamp tubes. The Svetlana is especially good considering the cost. I do think the PS is a little quieter and more articulate, and better suited for the V1 position, but I'm splitting hairs. The Svetlana is warmer and fuller in the lows and mids, and the highs are sweeter. It's a bit fatter sounding overall than the PS, which is brighter in the highs and tighter in the lows. The EQ can be tweaked to make these 2 tubes sound very similar, aside from the PS having a bit more clarity. If using the Svetlana for V1, I would have it tested for low noise, as they're not always as quiet as I would like. I actually like both tubes better than the TAD 7025WA, at least the one I've tried. It was noticeably lower output than the other two, very low noise and articulate, but thinner in all frequencies. I have to turn up the volume, mids & lows on the amp for the TAD to approach the other two.
Not dependable
by Marconi
I liked the sound at first. I put them in a few amps and really liked them in V2 of a DSL with a tungsol in V1. But after a really short time the be became very noisy and quite a few of them failed after little use. Avoid.