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primer on buying vintage tubes?

Dear all-

I recently started to tiptoe into tube rolling--replacing the 6922 stock tubes in my headphone amp etc.

I am curious as to why vintage tubes are often preferred to the new ones? Why would older tubes sound better?

And even more pressing, I'm curious about best practices for buying vintage tubes. I recently came across a pair on ebay that were not labeled NOS but the seller did say the had been measured on a tube tester and had 100% emission. If this a safe bet? Is it better to buy NOS? Is it better yet to deal with a vendor like Upscale Audio?

Thanks for any insights! Margot
mcanaday
andrew9405
225 posts
 
I've dealt with Kevin and Andy. Both are knowledgable and sell good products.
The difference, IMO, is Andy talks to you and Kevin talks down to you.
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Wont buy anything from Kevin he thinks he is doing you a favor .
vinylvalet
889 posts
 
Jim McShane, Brent Jesse, Andy Bowman, Brendan Biever and Doug's Tubes are all great tube vendors. I've also had good luck with larger vendors like Tube Depot. I would never recommend Upscale Audio. My experience with them has been terrible. Others have had problems with Upscale as well.

Not only will you get bad tubes from Upscale but it's likely the service will be even worse. With all the good tube vendors mentioned above, there is no reason to consider Upscale.
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 

I like Brent Jesse. Mullards last a long time, my 6922's are good after many years, and the good thing about NOS tubes is they don't sag, meaning lose their sparkle, while current production tubes lose their sparkle in a hurry.

There's no doubt about it, after taking longevity, plus high performance into account NOS tubes are economical; it's just that high up front cost that's a nail bighter, but after enjoying them for a few years without loss of performance, you'll know you did the right thing.

My advice is never buy a bargain NOS tube from Ebay, stick with the "Tube mongers".
mcanaday OP
169 posts
 
Thanks, guys. I had a very good transaction with Brent Jesse, and also a nice exchange with Jim McShane. I did reach out to Upscale Audio (twice) and never heard back.

What about the Tube Museum? Any experience with them, positive or negative?

Thanks! Margot
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