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. 
audioman58

03-08-2020 6:14pm
hello Jond the amp can take anything from El-34, KT-88-6550 kt120,kt150s

Is this the same amp you are selling here?
It’s hit or miss. Recently bought a nos Siemens 6922 off eBay. Got it and checked it out on my Hickok. Tested at 1500 which is really bad. It doesn’t sound bad after I compared it to a newer gold lion but I was disappointed. That tube was 100$. Tube selling is big money and many of these sellers don’t test them properly. 
Every few months there is a thread titled "Where Do Buy Tubes" or "Good Tube Vendors".  Good Reading.
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I've bought a lot of vacuum tubes from many EBay sellers.  I guess I've been really lucky. 
That being said, My favorite seller is LeedsRadio on Etsy. I can recommend them without hesitation.

Since I don't have any tube testing equipment, I'll just have to continue to rely on good luck and careful examination of buyer feedback.