Mullard CV4004 / 12AX7 British New Old Stock Platinum Grade / No Cryo Reviews

4.9 Rating 41 Reviews

Visit Product Page

Phone:

909.931.9686

Location:

2058 Wright Avenue,
2058 Wright Avenue
California
91750

Visit Product Page

“Just installed...love the sound of Mullard tubes...it has become my go to brand of choice...along with Upscale Audio...top notch.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Charles Bland

Verified Reviewer

“Most everything in home audio is system dependent. That is, how one feels about a particular piece often depends on the other pieces in the audio chain. This tube is no exception in my system. I bought it to replace a 30 year old Telefunken 12ax7 at the critical input stage of an even older MC275. Mullards and Teles are very different birds. The Mullard is big, round, lucious and a tad dark. The Tele is clear, crisp, and clean as mountain spring water. The rounder Mullard did not work well in my system until after I replaced most cabling with Nordost which removed some thickness. Now the Tele no longer fit so well. In went the Mullard and, voila, a perfect match. This tube brings the typical Mullard sound. It is quiet as winter silence and has the "breath of life" if still being a little dark. I have purchased many things from Upscale without any problem. Their word is their bond and when it comes to tubes, Kevin knows what's what.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Eugene Naylor

Verified Reviewer

“Excellent tube.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

Richard Seltzer

Unverified Reviewer

“I have many NOS 12ax7s and 5751s that I swap in and out of my preamp. This one seems to stay in place longer than all the others. Just the right amount of tube sweetness and detail.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“As advertised, this tube has that glorious mid-range which just gets better with break-in. I am hoping this will become a long lived old friend and be an anchor whenever I lose my way tinkering with my set up.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“The Mullard CV4003 was always my favorite 12au7 and the CV4004 shares the same wonderful midrange”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Upscale has been my go to for tubes for the past 20+ years. Their product and services are the best!! Also love the online video reviews: )”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I was definitely excited to get these tubes based on the reviews. I was pairing them with a Radiotechnique 12AU7 in my phono stage. I currently had some Sovtek 12AX7LPS in the driver stage of my Rogue Audio Ares. I was incredibly disappointed with these at first. I felt the bass was less, highs were rolled off. The tube just sounded thin. Mids were as advertised and more liquid than the Sovtek's. I gave this tube some significant burn in time--and still did not like the sound so I was just about to swap back to my Sovteks and sell these--until I decided to swap out the Siemens 12AU7 (to some Brimar 12AU7's...check my review on them) in my Raven Audio Osprey....and that made a SIGNIFICANT difference that totally changed the synergy of my system. I'm happy now with the sound and how all my tubes play nicely together so I plan on keeping the Mullard's in. If I could have done it all over again--I would have tried the Tungsram 12AX7's that Upscale is selling and have seen if I liked them more. These aren't worth the the $180 a tube in my opinion. Despite more grainy-ness in the mids, I liked the Sovteks more.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago