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Best Tubes on Market today?

I'd like to upgrade tubes on my Mastersound Compact 845 SET.
I'm getting a loud buzzing noise from both channels at  listening position which I find extremely annoying.
 My current tubes are Shuguang 845C (cheap Chinese electron). Pre amp tubes are Tungsram ECC82 and driver tubes 6SN7 EH. Probably all cheap stock tubes. I Love the the sweet sound but noise level is unacceptable.  Also very audible transformer noise, but I doubt there is a fix for that. Are there other ways to minimize tube/transformer noise?

What are the most reliable aforementioned tubes out there and what is the best place to get them?
Upscale audio seems to have quite a selection. PSVANE was also recommended by some. 
 I would prefer not to spend more than $600 on 845 tubes and hoping for reliable clean sounding tubes all around.    
I also have C2600 preamp with stock tubes. Any advice on those? 
ei001h
jmolsberg's avatar
jmolsberg
467 posts
 
NOS tubes buy from Andy

http://vintagetubeservices.com

the Shuguang WE 6SN7 Plus tubes I've been using are very good, although I can not comment on longevity, just performance.
facten
2,884 posts
 
Recommend Brent Jessee for vintage tubes http://www.audiotubes.com/
Aside from Sylvania 6SN7s, I have found the Sophia Electric 6SN7s to be very nice sounding and reliable.

testpilot
967 posts
 
Careful, the Shuguang 845C tubes are a low dissipation tube (70W) and are not a direct drop in replacement 845 for some amps.  Do the metal plate glow red when powered? 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
You cannot go wrong with NOS Sylvania, RCA, Mullard, Tung Sol. Spend as much as you can.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
I have a cheaper 845 amp that came with stock Chinese tubes from the early 2000s.  I wasn't impressed with the sound so I bought Psvanes.  I don't know yet if it will make a difference.  My options were very limited I wasn't going to spend thousands of dollars on vintage Western tubes.  I'll let you know if the new tubes make a difference.  I would have bought Russian Gold Lions if they were available.  I've enjoyed their small signal and power tubes (KT-77s and KT-88s).Vintage tubes had conferred an advantage in sound quality a nd I bought many of them.  I have a fairly large collection (In my own estimation)  I have been testing them recently and found many with marginal emissions or other more serious problems like shorts etc.  The open market for vintage tubes was a crap shoot.  Now I only buy from respected dealers who thoroughly test their tubes.  I don't sell as a rule but if I  would be open and tell the buyer as much as I know.
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