I get mine from The Tube Store. The first I tried, they seem to be pretty quick and reliable. I have ordered at least a half a dozen times.
Tube vendors.
Hello all taking a break from the kitchen rehab salesmen....
Quick question on Tube suppliers other than The Tube Store and Upscale Audio.
Who are you all getting tubes from and what do you like about them.
BestEarl.
Quick question on Tube suppliers other than The Tube Store and Upscale Audio.
Who are you all getting tubes from and what do you like about them.
BestEarl.
65 responses Add your response
I deal almost exclusively with Kevin at Upscale Audio, but a lot of people recommend Jim McShane. http://www.mcshanedesign.net/tubes.htm Also, Brent Jessee and Andy at Vintage Tube Services. https://www.audiotubes.com/ http://vintagetubeservices.com/ |
jim m is very good with testing and supplying modern power tubes - he is not really an active chaser of old rare small signal tubes - he may have some occasionally but he is not like andy baumann or brent jessee who will vigorously chase estate sales and do laborious sorting and testing of old rare tube collectors that have passed or are emptying their stocks due to age kevin started travelling all over the world chasing good old stock tubes he has quite a stash he is selling down over time i don’t know as much about the tube store but they also seem to have some old stock tubes as well, and they also seem to have a rigorous test regimen for good, now increasingly rare small signal tubes and rectifiers i would say andy @ vts, brent jessee and k deal are best, they test and they still have decent supply and variety - of course you will pay through the nose for the rare good stuff, for some tube types the cost is still fairly reasonable |
I use Tube Depot. Very knowledgeable sales force and to boot they sell great BBQ sauce! https://tubedepot.com/ |
Vintage Tube Services, If your looking for something REAL NOS from a guy that has speakers that are rated at 115db sensitivity who listens closely to every tube for sound quality, from someone who has been buying testing and selling tubes forever, who owns some of the oldest and original tube test equipment as well. If you have the time to wait then get in touch with ANDY and tell him what your looking for. The vintage RCA 5ar4, and 5687's for my Tube powered Modwright SWL 9.0 are very special and make this pre amp a giant killer. Matt M |
Brent Jessee Recording for NOS signal tubes and TC Tubes, for outputs. You already mentioned Kevin/Upscale, with whom I've never been disappointed, either. Then: there's this ebay seller, in Germany, with whom I've dealt multiple times, in the past, for nine-pin miniatures, though his inventory seems quite depleted, of late: https://www.ebay.com/str/tubesandradio?_trkparms=folent%3Atubesandradio%7Cfolenttp%3A1&_trksid=p...
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For Real NOS tubes Brent Jesse Audio , you can call and or email and he knows their sonics well and helps in matching what sonic signature You are after ,30 day return for a exchange and you can buy 2 year warranty based on the tubes cost ,NOS close matched tubes are getting scarce in some brands so not cheap, that being said in small tubes great buys are backup organ tubes much less Money for the exact same tube as the name brand with name printed labels like Hammond ,or other company vs standard names like Amperex , RCA, Sylvania,for-example. |
Regarding TC tubes, a copy/paste from a previous post: "My last octet of NOS GE 6550As came from TC Tubes. When one finally went South(after a couple years), they managed to find one, in their inventory of too-weak-to-sell-NOS, that matched my seven well-worn, and gave it to me. Didn’t even charge me, to test those seven. That’s service!" For honesty's sake: At the same time time, I was ordering a quad of Russian repop, Gold Lion KT-88s, for listening tests. Still: Gotta love those guys!
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@invalid Thanks for the clarification. So this person has better testing and equipment than Brent Jessee, Jim McShane and the others mentioned? I've never asked such questions of my vendors to even find out what they did or had -- glad to know there are serious folks making these detailed comparisons and rankings. Super helpful to know there's one vendor way beyond the others. Thank you! |
hilde45, First of all go to Andy’s website and immerse yourself for an hour or two. Take note of his test equipment. That’s a collection by itself! I’ve spoken with him at length about tubes and not only does he have a grasp on that subject, but he knows circuit design in detail. I remember when I wanted to tube roll some 5687s in my ModWright Anniversary PreAmp. He started asking me some questions about the output circuit design (most of which I couldn’t answer). He then called Dan Wright directly to find out what he needed to know. He called me back and we had a discussion about the sound characteristics I was looking for. I was looking for some “vividness” without it being etched. I felt if the sound was overemphasized in the upper mids/lower treble, I could compensate downstream. I had the Amperex brand in mind and he completely agreed with me. He recommended the Amperex 7119, D Getter, Pinched Waist (Late 1950s). They weren’t cheap but when I popped them in place, the sound absolutely glowed. No hiss, no hum, no microphonics, no unwanted sound at all. I’ve had them in place for a few years now with NO problems. This man has seen it all when it comes to tubes. And he is willing to go the extra mile to make sure the tube is compatible (and optimal) with the circuit it is in. I also bought two Amperex 6922, 1965 “USN”, White Label, Gold Pins for my ModWright modded Pioneer CD player. These two components along the MOSFET powered Modwright KWA 100SE are a match made in Heaven! If you speak directly
with Andy Bouwman, you will realize the
level of his expertise. He’s my tube guy for life!
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Andy will also put you in a Motorola if it saves you $ and tests like the OEM in OEM box…. He spent a few hours researching and testing just the right vintage Tung Sol 6550 that ( barely ) fits in my REF5se…… my post in no way to disparage other vendors, just happy w Andy. check out also RAM tubes and the genius that was Roger Modjeski - RIP…. |
@eichlerera Thanks for the detailed explanation about why he’s so good! Perhaps the fans here for Jim, Brent, Upscale, Viva, and the other tube sellers might want to see that their guy/biz is worth passing over for Andy. Because if he is as far beyond (in testing knowledge, equipment, expertise in tubes) as you say, then there’s no reason not to switch! |
I have a story about a local company- ****Tube Supply. They will allow you to buy same day-when open- but they do have a limited pickup window 4-5pm as I recall. I made a couple purchases there then went back for another purchase. The clerk tells me my last invoice is not marked as paid and would I please pay him the $100 he showed as outstanding. This place is heavily secured. Small glass window you deal thru. Small room. If you need the toilet an escort is provided. So I said "Wow that seems hard to believe". I had no recollection of walking out with something unpaid for. But I often tender cash rather than a card for reasons some of you will follow. So I asked if the likely cash payment possibly went into some employees pocket? Then I heard about how long everyone had worked there and even the camera which monitored their work area. I suggested that if he reviewed that day's video log and could prove that in fact I had not paid I would then pay it. Never heard from them. Keeps me wondering if they are now "hiring". Sold the Tube gear and moved on to Solid State Pass gear not because of this incident but maybe was a sub conscience move. |
the viva shop in mass is good, they ship quickly, communicate very well (sometimes a problem with andy at vts as he is older and essentially a one man show, as is jim m), viva is also very responsive when issues arise with tubes they sell that said, i don’t believe viva does extra testing in house or burn in on their tubes, which can be quite important and valuable with some tubes for some amps... for new stock tubes i believe viva relies on the factory testing and matching, which for some makes and tubes may not be so great |
I've dealt with Brett Jesse, Kevin Deal, Andy and Viva tubes on multiple occasions and have had great success. I have also purchased 30 or 40 tubes from a local dealer in PHX that has been very good. Dave at Arizona tube supply. Very good. I would say he seems to have mostly USA NOS tube brands, not so much on the European brands. Great source. |
I've bought many tubes from Brett Jesse and gotten great support. He tends to focus mostly on obscure NOS (and expensive) tubes. Recently I've bought quite a bit of tubes from the Tube Depot and have been very impressed with their service, selection, and prices. The Tube Depot mostly focuses on new production tubes, so the prices are generally pretty attractive. |
