Thanks sbo I was very interested in your Swissonor 6V6 based amps and may consider them if and when I decide to try tube amps. I may also start to thin the herd and sell some of my NOS/ANOS tubes at some point and will keep you in mind The smoked glass RCA VT107A- 6V6GT/G tubes are also really nice, at least in my Fender Deluxe Reverb. They are Australian Navy surplus from the 1950's I believe I bought from a gent over 10 years ago. I test all my tubes in a Hickok 752A tube tester and can match them in my Fender amp as I have a test jig that allows me to switch between tubes and measure current I use to set the bias on the amp.
My GSi75 still sounds amazing at over 3100 hours. ARC used to be known for driving tubes hard, but they have said that they are not hitting the KT150' hard and fully expect over 3000 hours from them. Many ARC preamps with displays have a tube hour counter. As do the GSi75 and VSi75.
I just know I did, after first seeing this thread, take a look to see if the tubes I like for one of my guitar amps were in stock, and they were not. I suspect that was already the case, nothing to do with sanctions. Just regular-ol’ ‘20s supply line issues.
Thanks - some of these tubes would be very welcome! It's a bit off topic: But the Swissonor amps are really great - I have the AM6221. And Mister Frei who builds these amps is a very friendly guy, I visited him twice and he told me a lot about the details of his amp. I would suggest: You come to Switzerland with some of your tubes and in exchange You can listen to my Swissonor amp and I show you Bern
Sounds like a good deal sbo. Always wanted to visit Switzerland!. I wonder what the security at the airport would think when they x-rayed my briefcase full of tubes? Back on topic, concerning any new Mfg tube shortages I wonder if it has more to do with material and supply chain shortages as my company is struggling to get parts to make our products?
Couple of data points (for folks to interpret as they wish) ...... Three weeks ago I was looking to buy a replacement set of power tubes for my VTL amps. Looked on Upscale for either Gold Lion KT88 or Tung-Sol 6550. They had enough of the former in stock for my needs, now they are backordered. I decided that I wanted to try the Tung-Sol tubes, so ordered 28 @ $45.95 each; now they are $56.95 each.
Cripes. Their KT120 tubes are already closing in on double the price I recently paid when I bought from them about 5 months ago! I'm seeing the price go up elsewhere too. I wish I weren't too poor at the moment to grab some spares, now.
I just got a quad of Tung Sol 7591A for my Fisher 800c, which fixed the channel loss issue I was having with the original set of Tung Sols and made the Fisher sound quite rejuvenated. Then I went ahead and ordered another quad from the same EBay seller and was glad to see the price unchanged from last week, still at $119.99. I figure I’m good for a couple of years now, but might add one more back up set just in case.
All I really need is some backup rectifier tubes for my preamp which I would think shouldn’t present too much of a problem in the future.
I just retubed my mid monos and preamps but I think I'm gonna stock up. My new amp arriving soon uses tubes that aren't really popular and aren't used in musician circles so I think the 6 sets of replacement tubes should be good for a while. Output tubes are 300b so I will probably buy another pair of those. My current preamp was just retubed with JJ and although they sound great I question their longevity so I will probably pick up a pair of 12ax7 and 12au7 while I can still get them
I stocked up on premium 6SN7's about a year ago. It had nothing to do with Covid or supply chain issues, I noticed a trend of increased pricing over the past couple of years. I wanted to grab as many true NOS as I could afford.
The good news there is it doesn't seem any of the Russian made 300B tubes are especially well regarded, while the US and Japanese made entries get high marks.
The amp will be delivered with Western Electric New production which should last a long time but I think I want to get another pair for the future ......who knows how long they will be making them
Recommended/supplied by ModWright: 5AR4 rectifier tube (may also use 5U4GB and 5V4GB). I’m currently using Sovtek 5AR4 ModWright Recommend upgrades: Rectifier Tube: Mullard, Amperex or Philips GZ34 Made in Holland. Appreciated. Much thanks for the offer. Someone is already picking some up for me.
I just bought 6 NOS JAN CRC 5r4gy ST bottle date coded 6-56 and 10 - 56 .....so damn lucky to get those. I also have a Raytheon 274b and a few strong used 5r4gy. The inputs are e180f / 6688 , I bought 6 pairs of Mullard NOS at $5.95 ea , have a pair of Amperex that were only $40 a pair . Just want the amp to outlive me....
I agree. I've found that fellow audiophiles don't feel any ill will against you. Instead they say , "that lucky bastard."
Curious if demand is creating the high prices? With a stronger dollar and 30%(?) weaker Ruble one would expect them to get cheaper. That is, unless supply dries up or a sudden spike in demand. I have enough stock on hand for about 10,000 hours. Are tubes the equivalent of the Covid run on TP? Or is this just price gouging?
Who knows! NOS tubes can carry high prices because the supply is inherently limited. New production tubes have typically not been supply limited (even though factories have closed over the years) because overall demand has declined. May not be gouging per see, but supply uncertainty certainly drives up prices. Just look at gas prices.
I’m in a hoarding pattern for my new arrival and all my other gear. Mono amps , three preamps , headphone amp ….. while they are still affordable and obtainable
I figure goods from Russia are largely going to be very limited in the US for years to come (and, you know, good), and Western companies doing business in Russia, like New Sensor, are going to be in real trouble. I bought an extra set of Gold Lion KT77, so now I have two quads in store, in addition to the relatively new set of 6CA7s in my amp now. If six or eight years from now I'm still around but new Russian tube production isn't or isn't in the west (or production elsewhere hasn't improved or taken up the slack), well, maybe it'll be time to move to solid state already.