October 11, 2012
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Telefunken and Telefunken-Branded Siemens Tubes, Part 2
I thought it might be of interest to compare and contrast two sets of Telefunken branded PCC88/7DJ8 tubes that I have on hand. One set was actually manufactured in 1968 by Telefunken although I don’t know whether at their Berlin or Ulm plant. They all bear the telltale Telefunken diamond bottom and their tops are seamless.
The above sample tubes were purchased from the TubeMonger at a price of $50 apiece and are, unfortunately, no longer in stock.
The second sample, although labeled as Telefunken, were in fact manufactured by Siemens at their Munich plant. This is evidenced by their production codes. Additionally, the tubes have the hallmark four-seamed top and lack the Telefunken diamond molded into the glass on the tube’s bottom between the pins.
The Telefunken branded Siemens tubes in the 16LS2 tubes were most likely produced in 1973 (DJ8 ≠3I), the one in the 140 is Platinum grade ($85) and made in 1970 (DJ8 ≠0K) while the other six used in the 16LS2 are Gold Grade at $65 a piece and all were purchased from Upscale Audio.
Upscale and TubeMonger Boxes TFK/Siemens on Left and TFK on Right
TFK/Siemens on Left and TFK on Right TFK/Siemens on Left and TFK on Right
TFK/Siemens on Left and TFK on Right TFK/Siemens PCC88
TFK PCC88 The Entire Ensemble
TFK PCC88 by Siemens in Pr. 140 and TFK PCC88 in Pr. 16LS2
Output Tubes: New Sensor Gold Lion KT88
TFK PCC88 by Siemens in both Pr. 140 and Pr. 16LS2
Output Tubes: New Sensor Gold Lion KT88 and original Tung-Sol three hole, grey plate 6550
Clean sound and clear as a bell but still musical.
Sweetly musical with leading edge transients not quite as sharp. Very detailed but not quite as “sharp” as the Voskhod 6H23π-EB. Crisp transients and reference level low level detail.
Wood on wood sounds are reference level and shattering glass sounds are realistic.
Sound stage has sharp images with wide lateral separation and reference level height. Projects well into the room as is typical for the system.
Well defined images in a wide and deep sound stage. Reference level sound stage with clearly defined images and transparency. Extends beyond the speaker boundaries and reference level height.
Percussion is tight with air around the images.
Tuneful bass and low bass is accurate.
Slide guitar during Breaking Bad intro is detailed with excellent timbre and long decay.
Timbre and decay are excellent and almost at a reference level.
Vocals are crystal clear with a high degree of realism.
Overall sound is at reference level.
Overall sound is almost reference level.
Both of these “Telefunken” PCC88 tubes are among my favorites and will see periodic rotation in my system going forward. The Siemens manufactured version is still readily available and interestingly, of the two, they sound just a bit more organic and sweet than the TFK manufactured tubes. This is a definite about face from what I normally find when listening to other tube types made by these manufacturers.
Comments (3)
Gorgeous!
Last week I bought the Siemens "Telefunken" with the four seamed top and have to say that these tubes produce a fascinating sound.
It makes you headbanging on Doom Metal and almost crying with Shirley Horn when she sings "the man I loved"
Definite a different tube than the Voskhod 6N23P, witch is second best in my system..
The Siemens "TFK" was definitely one of my favorites and just for the reasons you state. Very much the chameleon allowing the music, no matter the type, to shine through.