Try Brandon or Rob @ 480-820-5411 @ Antique Electronic Supplies. I bought tubes in Nov. for my Cary V12R amp 3 matched quads and the rest for 232.00 and just ordered a new set of tubes for my Cary SLP98P preamp 6sn7 military type andthe rest stock for 135.00 inc. shipping. Good luck to all.
New to tube rolling, where to purchase tubes?
I have always been more of an SS guy but now have a Monarchy DAC24 with a tube stage. (run through Ayre AX7e and GMA speakers). I am not crazy about the sound of the tube stage now (too euphonic) but imagine with the right tubes, I might find a good match for the Ayre and get a "rounder" sound. At least, reading the tube roller forums seems to indicate that might be true.
The tube stage has a pair of Phillips 6dj8s. I would like to try some different tubes to see what effect it has but would prefer not to spend a ton at first and have no idea where to buy tubes without getting ripped off.
Questions:
1. who are reputable dealers for tubes?
2. would I hear a difference if I spent $100 on a pair of older matsushitas or must I spend a bunch on vintage amperex to get a significant change in tone?
thanks.
The tube stage has a pair of Phillips 6dj8s. I would like to try some different tubes to see what effect it has but would prefer not to spend a ton at first and have no idea where to buy tubes without getting ripped off.
Questions:
1. who are reputable dealers for tubes?
2. would I hear a difference if I spent $100 on a pair of older matsushitas or must I spend a bunch on vintage amperex to get a significant change in tone?
thanks.
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- 14 posts total
As you begin to hear about and meet these vendors it helps to know that some of these folks focus on selling current production tubes, while others specialize exclusively in what are called NOS tubes. NOS is a much misused term - it stands for New Old Stock. But depending on the user it might mean an old tube that may or may not be brand new. Tubes that have been in equipment and used for an indeterminate amount of time are called "pulls" - because they were pulled out... I suppose the grail is NOS NIB - meaning new old stock, new in the original mfgrs box. Of course how it can be new and tested is one of those zen problems I will leave to wiser heads Four really broad strokes to divide the field (this goes beyond 6DJ8s). US made which includes GE, RCA, TungSol, National, KenRad and some Amperex. British made which includes Mullard, Valvo and Genelex. German made which includes Siemens and Telefunken. And of course Russia with the Svetlana and Sovtek - but also licensed reissues of old NOS designs from Mullard, TungSol and so forth. There were also a lot of tubes made in Holland. And yes there are tubes made in France and Japan. And modern tubes made in China. Further complicating this is that a tube might have been labelled by one company but made under contract by another. This is where the higher priced NOS specialist dealers really earn their keep. Based on personal experience I can highly recommend Brent Jesse: http://www.audiotubes.com Brendan Biever: http://www.tubeworld.com Both these guys maintain very large inventories, are happy to make suggestions either to the max or bang for buck and maintain pretty amazing sites. They are very responsive. And they stand behind their products. I also recommend Dennis Boyle: http://www.chimeralabs.com/ Dennis is a lot lower key but knows his stuff and is not opposed to saving you some money LOL In the new tube space doing business with all three of the recommendations you have received is a good experience. There is an enormous amount to be learned online. Just Google up any number of topics and go to town. Here's a couple: http://www.worldtubeaudio.com/ http://www.oneillselectronicmuseum.com Let me give you the benefit of my experience. You will end up with more tubes then you can possibly use. Do not be afraid to purchase a used tube or a pull if it is sufficiently discounted. Many of these tubes were designed for 10,000 hours plus of service. Many were made to go in rockets, radars and other military gear and are not easy to damage. Others were made to go in televisions and radios. They are designed to burn and burn and burn. If you get a tube from ebay or used, you love it, and it blows so what. Get another one. Enjoy the hunt - it's a lot of fun |
Really helpful advice from everyone - I am going to send some emails per your recommendations and see what happens. One thing I am realizing about this hobby, I can't leave well enough alone. It is not just about trying to reach nirvana, rather it is fun to experience different things. And . . I can't say enough about how much I enjoy Audiogon - no other forum I have tried has had such helpful and gracious participants! Thanks to all. |
In addition to to the recommendations above, another source to consider is http://www.tubemonger.com I've personally only dealt with them once for a very nice pair of NOS Telefunken ECC801s tubes that were priced well below some of the more well known dealers. As you may or may not already know, many tube manufacturers, in addition to manufacturing their own tubes, sourced them from from other manufacturers and re-labeled them. Tubemonger really knows the tubes they sell and will disclose their provenance. For example, if an orange globe Amperex 12AU7 was made by Mullard in their Blackburn factory, it will be noted in the listing. Tube rolling is an endeavor of trial and error, only limited by your funds. Recommendations can be useful but what matters is what sounds best in your equipment to your ears. In my experience sometimes a Goliath of the tube world is slain by a David. Good luck and have fun with it. |
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