Funny you should mention it, as I have actually moved on from the Brimar CV455 and CV4033. I have been enamored with another tube discovery as of late, and it’s been blowing my mind. Folks, the RFT ECC81 Folded Plate Foil Disc Getter is an amazing tube, and my new number 1 recommended driver/input tube for the Pendant. This tube is well balanced top to bottom and has the largest most expansive stage presentation I have heard with the Pendant. The bass is super powerful, digs deep, hits hard and is tight and textured. You will feel the impact with this tube. The mids are transparent, textured and detailed to the max, as in you will hear more little nuances and stuff in the recording you have not heard before, and the highs soar. This tube has an amazing ability to make the headphones seemingly disappear and the sound fills the entire room. Talk about being “there” with the musicians, this tube does it. I have been known to hype up tubes in the past, but rest assured this tube is worth the hype, and is a real stunner. The way it can produce nuance and micro details is addictive to listen with. The really cool thing is this tube can be found easily and is highly affordable ($15 a piece ).
Here is a link to where I bought mine below.
Compared to the Brimar CV4033 and CV455, the RFT is much more open sounding and transparent, with better detail, but never harsh. The RFT also has better extension on both ends, and better balance overall.
As for the Hamburg ECC82, they still pop up from time to time, and are going for around $150 - $200 a piece.
Nice! At that price, you really can’t loose. The crazy thing is the RFT smokes almost all my other tubes, and with some of them costing as much as $200 a piece. I am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts once you get it. This is a must buy tube in my opinion if you own a Pendant, and the control it has over the entire frequency range is amazing.
Also, since it’s $15 I’ll grab one and try it out in my Nautilus. When I bought the amp it actually came with the brimar cv4033 talked about so I’ll compare the two for fun.
Every time I try out new tubes I seem to always go back to a handful of telefunken tubes I have lying around. Seems like they are my cup of tea for the most part.
Cool! Should be an interesting comparison. I have never found a Tele I like, so just goes to show preferences matter. I have a feeling you might not be reaching for the Tele as much after you hear the RFT, but we shall see . . .
I only have experience with the Brimar CV4034/12au7 and I was surprised at the difference in sound between Brimar tubes made in different years, at different factories. The “regular” 1970 halo getter CV3034 tube has a wonderful warmth to it, like a Mullard 12au7 I’d previously bought, but the Brimar has the highs that I found lacking in the Mullard. I use it in my Pendant, and really like the warm sound.
I also bought a Brimar 1956 CV4034 made in Footscray and that is much more neutral than the other brimar. I use that one in my Nautilus, to give a different “tuning” than the Pendant. I like this tube a little more because the neutrality makes the amp a little more versatile with different headphones.
I’m assuming the CV4033’s built at the same factories at the same time have similar sound.
It’s the footscray one everybody was salivating over a few months ago. I’m going to keep the telefunken in for a couple months and then switch just one tube at a time each month.
That’s awesome! Several of my tube rolling buddies and I have had great success with this seller, and I only share links to sellers I recommend or have had good success with in the past.
Can you describe what you don’t like about the tube with your RAD-0?
I have a Brimar Footscray CV4034 in my Nautilus and I really like it with both my VO and RAD-0, so I was wondering how those two Footscray tubes differed. Or perhaps we just like/dislike different things.
I like it in my Pendant too, but haven’t heard the RAD-0 on that yet.
Edit: I should probably say what I like about it! To me, it just gets out of the way. It doesn’t roll off the highs or lows, doesn’t appear to emphasize anything and is very transparent. With the caveat that I’m not good at describing frequencies. I liked it so much that I bought a second one as a backup.
It has a bit of an upper-mid bump that doesn’t translate well with the RAD-0s. It isn’t an issue with the VCs. Very holographic with the VCs as well, not as noticable with the RAD-0s.
It’s just a synergy thing.
Awesome! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. I am rocking with mine as I type this, and in my head I can’t stop sayin, “Wow this amp sounds better than ever, and crazy lifelike sounding with awesome snap, weight and punch to the notes!”.
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The crazy thing is the RFT smokes almost all my other tubes, and with some of them costing as much as $200 a piece. 
I am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts once you get it. This is a must buy tube in my opinion if you own a Pendant, and the control it has over the entire frequency range is amazing.
