The E80CC is a strange story. First of all, it has a much higher gain in Mr
Lee's DIY pre-amp. We need to set the volume backward 4-5 notch in order to get
to the right sound level. The E80CC projects a
very "odd" sound stage which gives a "much larger than
life" scale. I think all 3 of us do not like the sound of both E80CC even
as they are very very hifi sounding in a way. The E80CC reminds me very much of
the Mullard ECC32, which also sound extremely odd in some 6SN7 applications but
marvelous on others. BTW, the Valvo pinched waist sounded alot better than the
Tungsram E80CC.
I believe we need to test the E80CC again in an input or output buffer position
with no/minumum gain before we can conclude how good it is as a 12AU7
"sub".