Why do old tubes sound better than current tubes?

I think the very lable of 'NOS' is misleading.

Unless my parents or some other close relative bought some of these claimed "NOS" tubes when they were young and can now recall it vividly, and kept them in a box clean and dry for the past several decades.... well those tubes I'd call NOS. Otherwise, NOS means very litttle to me apart from that they are old... New? Maybe new to me... but NEW outright?

I'm going to be quite doubtful. But if my gear and my ears say they're a step up... I'm good with that, and that means only they measure out well according to orig specs... but certifiablly 100% virgin new? Probably not. not IMHO.

BLindjim,

Never thought about it but you are right. New old stock sounds like marketing jibberish. Its old, oh but its new! Oh sorry but I meant unused, not new. How do I know it was never used? Well, it reads like new. Yeah right! Funny.

I agree tube rolling can yield benefits, but the book is still open for me on the merit of NOS versus otherwise. I may never know though because so far for me, the fewer tubes, the better. And I like the few that I already have!

Yes, "new old stock" not only sounds like marketing gibberish but an oxymoron as well, which is why many prefer "new original stock", which is a more accurately descriptive term for the NOS acronym. This distinguishes the older production from the modern reissues.

I claim to have golden ears in regard to NOS tubes. I bought some bargain NOS tubes that sounded half as good as full price tubes and I sent them back for full price tubes. MY point is, leave bargains for the bottom feeders.
I have bought tubes from "Brent Jesse" for years. A reputable dealer makes his living dealing with "golden ears", he can not afford not to deliver the goods. Since there is absolutely no way to tell an OK tube from the real deal by looking at it, and only if you got the ears can you tell by listining to it; your best option is to only deal with a reputable dealer.

I found this and thought it interesting:

NOS