Tung-Sol 12AX7 (ECC83) Preamp Vacuum Tube
From our review of this tube: "There are only so many ways to describe vacuum tube tone and most have become cliches. The Tung Sol 12AX7 preamp tube has the gain and drive of a Chinese 12AX7 and the pure tone of a Mullard or Brimar."
According to the manufacturer, this Tungsol 12AX7 is the Ultimate 12AX7. Big, warm, and musical. High Gain, ultra-low microphonics, and superb linearity with a dynamic 3-D sound.
One other note about the construction of these audio tubes is they have filaments that are almost completely encased in the plate structure. They don't "light up" brightly when working properly.
Note to audiophiles: These tubes are great for linestage preamps, but generally not phono stages where a very low noise floor is required.
Other Tung-Sol tubes 
12AX7 TypesAdditional Information and Downloads
Reviews:
12AX7 Tube Review
Tube Matching Information:
Matched Sections Service
Downloads:
Tung-Sol 12AX7 Datasheet (PDF)
Download Adobe Acrobat PDF reader
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
41 reviews
Lots Of Fun
by Adam
I first bought a few of these just off the shelf at a shop maybe six years ago and found them to be hyped, pretty much to the point of being a gimmick. At the time, I had experience with some lucky anos Mullard finds and the regular common factory preamp tubes, usually JJ and Chinese but sometimes old sovtek. I also was only really trying tubes in V1. A few years back I bought my first tubes here, and kind of feel guilty buying them elsewhere at this point, and have been diving way deeper into tube “rolling.” Recently I’ve discovered how much just plain fun these can be. Some amps they can literally transform. These are basically a party in a bottle, their great upper mid boost when used in the right slot can work wonders.
Superb clarity! TheTubeStore is amazing!
by Chris L -
Amazing tubes! Sound great in every amp I have. Superb clarity and dead quiet. The Tube Store is simply amazing extremely fast shipping and the best customer support anywhere. Highly recommend!
Awesome upgrade!
by Rick
Tried all types of 12AX7 preamp tubes I had on hand like EH, Mesa, JJ, TAD, GT, Genalex, and Sovtek. I installed 2 in my Blackstar Club HT 50 MKII V1 and V2 positions. The clean and dirty channels really came to life. I'm also running a pair of GT 6L6S's instead of EL-34 or KT77's.
Very nice.
by Tony
These are good preamp tubes. They're similar to the Sovtek 12AX7LPS and the JJ ECC83S. I would buy them again. Very nice. I put them in a Marshall TSL60 half stack. And I got lots of crunch, gain and overdrive. They were very quiet and microphonic free.
LOVE THIS TUBE!!!
by Kenny H
I LOVE this tube. I use it Exclusively in my Orange Micro Dark Terror AND my Orange Terror Stamp amps. This tube seems to produce a more 3D sound with more headroom, sustain, clarity, note articulation and more volume than other tubes. It's no wonder that it is one of the best selling New Production tubes out there today! Also, when they are in use, they Barely
even light up, which is normal for this tube. Try one today! Oh......and make sure you get it here from The Tube Store!