Telefunken ECC802S 6189 ◇ Bottom

Soundlumia’s Opinion

Look in all dictionaries...no word can truly describe Telefunken ECC802S.

"Exceptional" is not exceptional enough as so many E82CC/6189/12AU7WA/5814/ECC186 tubes are dwarfed immediately the moment we begin to compare their performances at any level, by any measurement, and connoisseurs are left with no choice but THE BEST in its own class.

"Limitless" is too limiting for a tube of this caliber and one would expect much more potential to be unleashed, even if that means entering the realm of endless possibility (and impossibility), face to face with the perfection in sound, strange, lonely but infinitely rewarding.

"Visionary" is a small a vision for the ultra-high-end tubes market where common jargons like "year of manufacturing" and "getter type" are no longer relevant and only the eternal gracefulness and the inscribed benchmark are treasured by the most discerning audiophile ears, generation after generation.

"Sensational" can barely describe the exhilaration of those who have accidentally discovered the sounds they never knew before existed in their lifetime playlists - or as some of us have experienced, the “hidden links” that connect the music notes at the deepest subconscious level and that only wake up to calls from the most analytical tube on Earth.

Yet “analytical” pales in front of the galaxy of sound details (or “a giant spider web of information one is trapped in” as some have experienced) revealed and presented swiftly and effortlessly in a three-dimensional space. But there’s also an otherworldly fourth dimension: the logical reasoning WHY - whatever that one single wonderful trait you just enjoyed is - be it ultra clarity, pronounced bass or forwardness in the midrange - you know it is there for sure but you also you know why it is there and what it is going to lead to next, and then that knowledge becomes your new insight, which becomes your new horizon.

So perhaps “insightful” is the closest word, if not the perfect. Let’s see how far it will take us with this insight.