Neumann U67 EF86 Tube Shootout

Audiophiles lend us your ears. The Neumann U67 is a microphone hallowed for it wonderful sound. Now you can listen to it with different tubes to see the effect. Turn up your speakers and let the knowledge flow.

In this video we listen to five different EF86 / 6267 variants in the newly manufactured Neumann U67. Introduced in the spring of 2018, this resurrected tube microphone defined the sound of the 60s. The tubes in this shootout are:

Neumann selected, Russian made EF86
1950’s Holland made Amperex EF86
1960’s German made Valvo EF86
1950’s British made Genalex Z729 / EF86
German made Telefunken EF86

The U67 tube microphone was connected to an API 512C microphone preamp and then directly into Pro Tools HD. No signal processing was used. The sound you hear is straight from the microphone with no EQ, no compression … nothing.

Can you hear a difference between the different tubes? Let us know what you think. We look forward to your thoughts.