Sovtek 12AX7LPS is underrated. And by that I mean, way, waaay underrated.
Let me explain what we mean.
Sovtek 12AX7LPS was one of the first modern long plate 12AX7 tubes. The long plate Sovtek 12AX7LPS is quiet, well made, has nice thick low-mids that translates into that warmth that we all seek.
12AX7LPS tube is designed with low noise in mind. Longer plate tubes such as 12AX7LPS can be more prone to microphonics. In order to address this, the plate assembly is crimped precisely onto the supporting rod. Also, the micas are cut clean, and sized just right, so the plate assembly is well supported.
Despite the tight fitting of micas, we hardly ever see bits of mica floating around in a Sovtek 12AX7LPS. The tube heights are very consistent since the plate assembly is brazed to the pins at a constant height.
Considering a lot of the assembly is done by hand, we take our hats off to the people working at the Xpo-pul factory in Saratov, Russia. All of these details require precision and skill that make Sovtek 12AX7LPS such a solid reliable tube.
The best attribute of Sovtek 12AX7LPS tube is that it is a great value. Sovtek 12AX7LPS is not the cheapest 12AX7, but is definitely one of the cheaper choice and a great value.
One small quirk of Sovtek 12AX7LPS is that the filament is completely encased in a metal tube. This makes it hard to see if a Sovtek 12AX7LPS is turned on or not. This was done so as not to expose ends which can cause noise. If you don't see the filament glow on a Sovtek 12AX7LPS or its brother Mullard 12AX7, there is no need to worry as this is perfectly fine.
As you can probably tell by now, we are big fans of Sovtek 12AX7LPS, especially in audio applications. Being sellers of vacuum tubes we probably should be trying to promote more expensive tubes, but we think Sovtek 12AX7LPS is such a great performer and value that we can't help keep recommending it for audio applications.
You can find our Sovtek 12AX7LPS offering on the following pages:
Also feel free to check out other 12AX7 tubes we carry:
- 12AX7 / ECC83 / 7025 catalog page