Your choice of EL34's

Zaikesman, I hope you never hear any of those "ancient esoterica" tubes for yourself.

If you did, you would discover that money invested in premium tubes are often more improvement than twice that amount in equipment upgrades.

Tubes are not just parts, they are the heart of the equipment and almost as important to performance as the design itself.

One last factor to consider. Many of the old tubes such as the KT 77 are known to last 30 years and more. How many Svetlana's and for what amount of money would be required to equal that durability record? Assuming you are willing to take the quality "hit" along with the cash.

Albert, I'm sure you've listened to many tubes that I never will, but I suspect that if I could, I might only somewhat disagree with you in degree, not in kind. I do not at all dispute that tubes can greatly affect the quality of the sound, and that there are times when an older tube, even an extensively used tube, can have the superior sound. Most of my tube-rolling using vintage tubes has taken place in my guitar amps, and there has even been an occassion when the best sounding tube was an "obsolete" metal-case oldie. I will admit that these experiments were done with tubes that I just scrounged up, not pristine NOS bought for big bucks from a dealer. But I have also done a little dabbling with mail-order NOS in my hi-fi preamp, and mostly been disapointed, with noisy, ringy results. And with power output tubes, I've always found that freshness does matter. Obviously, it's possible to manufacture either a superior or an inferior tube, and it is probable that some of the best would have been made in the tube's heyday. But it is also possible that someone could make a top-quality tube today. In addition, I think it is quite likely that some amount of snobbery and opportunism has attached itself to the NOS market, as will happen with any scarce or no longer made commodity. If I had the patience and werewhithal to hunt down premium NOS and do all the comparing, maybe I would reach conclusions similar to yours. But this is clearly not for everybody, and motivation, in the form of dissatisfying sound, would also have to be present. I think that in a case such as the Svetlana EL-34's, that someone might be manufacturing a tube right now that is about as good as anything ever made, a position some reveiwers have taken on this tube. I like what I hear with this product enough that in my rig, I am not really curious to go down the NOS road (and they've been very durable). YMMV!

When the best tubes were manufactured, they were the industry that brought the brightest minds and biggest budgets into play, much like the aerospace or computer industry today.

The materials and manufacturing quality control standards (especially for Military versions) were often "cost no object." This was due to the fact that we were at war and fighting for our very survival.

The Russian tubes are good, no doubt. They are however the product of great American marketing, where we find cheap labor (China as well) and make a decent knock off. The true cost of a Svetlana EL 34 is less than 50 cents. No doubt a great value for the money, but hardly state of the art.

If your equipment does not benefit from the better quality, then you are blessed. I am after the best sound reproduction available and will not compromise on tubes, even if you perceive it as snobbish.

Albert: Thanks for the tip on KT77's (never heard or heard of them). I will add them to my hit list when we are on our thrift and flea outings. Currently looking for #50's for a friend. All of the old repair shops have already been stripped by a local tube dealer (years ago), but I do run across good tubes from time to time. I picked up a NOS pair of XF1's a few month's ago for $20 (in a CEC Mullard box and the tubes are stamped Dynaco). I had thought of selling them, but decided that I could not afford to replace them. LOL.

Dekay.

The joys of tube hunting! I scored some Mullard dual getter XF2' EL34's on EBAY some months ago by a seller in Hong Kong. His rating was not built up yet and buyers were afraid to bid. I wrote him a note to which he quickly and courteously responded, and I placed my bid.

In the end I scored a total of 8 for $160.00, only twenty bucks a hit. This is not normal, but those who want the quality and are willing to shop, it is a great way to bring up your high end systems performance for a very fair price.