If NOS pre or power tubes became unavailable altogether, what new tubes would you buy?


Hey tuberollers, 

I'm curious to see what happens if there's a gun to your head, or more practically all NOS tubes disappear (dread).  What would you do with your line/pre stage and/or power stage?  

I have tried 5 different NOS 12AU7s and only 1 new 12AU7 in my preamp section (Cifte, RCA black plates (late 50s), Sylvanias, Baldwin organ tubes, Amperex 70s orange globes, and new Chinese stock Primaluna tubes).  In my power section, I have not tried any NOS tubes and 3 types of tubes (stock Chinese Primaluna EL34s, reissue Mullard EL34s, and reissue Gold Lion KT88s).  

Side note: I haven't ventured into NOS power tubes because of the cost and availability/scarcity.  I need 8 of them!

Without having tried anything else, I would be lost on new or reissue 12AU7s.  On the power tube side, I'd be just fine with either the reissue Mullard EL34s or the Gold Lion KT88s.  
128x128jbhiller
Dear @lewm : Not even in the 60K electronics you will see teflon cooper V-caps or naked 2575 resistors. Manufacturers as ML makes very good designs: industrial design type, militar specs parts, bullet proof design type. Even that they do not use " boutique parts " they choosed carefully through proved trusty ones: takes no riscks.

Many of the names I posted design that the active parts stay working at no more of its 40% posibilities, especially those pure class A designs where temperature ( to hot. ) is a real enemy for those parts where the quality performance could " suffer " changes out of specs because that kind of temperature. They design for years to come working in those " hard " conditions. SS designs are really trusty and performs faultless for many many years.
When a trouble is present it’s not easy to fix it as with tubes where you just change one tube and that’s it, always is more complex in SS designs.
My ML 20.6s is very good example about: came fromm more than 25 years and works in pure class A and I play with every single day and never had any single fault: staeady all these years as if were manufactured two days ago. This is SS technology.

The important subject is that if we take the SS path we have to, step by step, re-set the system around the SS electronics understanding the SS whole path. Especially its advantages when we compare it against live MUSIC.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC not DISTORTIONS,
R.
Dear @tubed1 : What do you think is the real difference in quality performance level between your home audio system and almost any other one?:

mainly the DISTORTIONS levels of your system against the others. 

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC not DISTORTIONS,
R.