I tend to disagree as there are some long term excellent dealers on eBay. The trick is finding them, that’s all. I bought a whole bunch of tubes on eBay about 6-8 years ago , everything from Chrome Domes to Badboys to WWII Tung Sols, always had great results.
Vacuum tube ! And Warnings
To all out there who have Vacuum tube Amplifiers .
my friend just bought his first tube amp , it came with EL34 power tubes he wanted to get a bit more punch . He ordered on EBay 6550s I told him I would assist in fine tuning the bias.
he plugged them in we turned it on and a huge transient goes through one of the speakers and a surge through one tube . I shut it down waited 5 minutes then turn it on bias has a built in meter ,I checked they were over 90 +milliamperes maxed the meter. should be around 50. I removed them , he is sending back.the story here is many Ebay sellers don’t even test them they just get them from Russia and state as a match quad ,and runin for 24 hours . Never buy from anyone that doesnot personally check them .
viva tubes, and upscale Audio are good , Jim mc Shane is good.
for vintage tubes, Brent Jesse recording, and Vintage tube services I recommend.
my friend just bought his first tube amp , it came with EL34 power tubes he wanted to get a bit more punch . He ordered on EBay 6550s I told him I would assist in fine tuning the bias.
he plugged them in we turned it on and a huge transient goes through one of the speakers and a surge through one tube . I shut it down waited 5 minutes then turn it on bias has a built in meter ,I checked they were over 90 +milliamperes maxed the meter. should be around 50. I removed them , he is sending back.the story here is many Ebay sellers don’t even test them they just get them from Russia and state as a match quad ,and runin for 24 hours . Never buy from anyone that doesnot personally check them .
viva tubes, and upscale Audio are good , Jim mc Shane is good.
for vintage tubes, Brent Jesse recording, and Vintage tube services I recommend.
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- 40 posts total
stereo5 In the last 12 months, I've purchased around $1k worth of NOS tubes from sellers on Ebay. Zero problems. Years ago, when I had an amp that used 6C33 tubes, I purchased at least $500 worth from sellers in Russia and the Ukraine. Zero problems. I always purchased from sellers that had 100% positive feedback. |
I have had 2 bad experiences on eBay. Not for tubes, but for other audio equipment. In one case, it was an Acrolink cable that never materialized after waiting 9 months. The other was on an amp that arrived broken (not from shipping) and had a very hard time getting a refund. Too many amateurs selling on eBay so now I avoid at all costs. |
agree with Stereo5 on why would anybody buy tubes off of Ebay ? if you knew your friend was going to get tubes, why not suggest getting them from a tube dealer that would have the tubes matched / tested ??? there was another thread recently about someone getting tubes from Ebay and they are all shocked that they were junk. duh..... |
- 40 posts total