Newproduction power tubes: Reliablity

@glupson

i may have stated that point a bit too strongly... not to be too scary about this -- more appropriately: when a power tube fails, depending on how it fails and depending on the amp, there may be some ancillary damage -- would be a more accurate statement

like everything else, there is a learning curve and knowledge to using tube power amps
-- turn tube bias down when installing fresh tubes, then bias up gradually after 10-15 minutes idling (if the amp is manually biased)
-- be watchful when first powering up, for abnormal/inconsistent glow amongst the tube set (helps to lower the room lighting to see this obviously)
-- listen for any crackling, hissing or anything sounding abnormal at the amp or through the speakers - things may settle down if this appears initially
-- roughly note operating hours on power tube set over time

all the above is less critical (but should still be practiced) if the tubes have been pre-burned and tested by the retailer - good sources do this, sometimes for a small extra charge, it is worth paying for it for peace of mind

different amps have different protection circuits... primaluna among the best in this respect... the famous brand is audio research whose lovely, expensive amps do not have protection circuitry for the output tube, and so some (usually relatively minor) damage can result if a tube blows badly -- very fixable by a tech but still a pain to deal with (thusly, ARC tube amp users learn to be conservative in terms of replacing power tube sets pre-emptively and carefully noting the operating hours)

@ mozartfan, My new buick encore, is made in (China). This has been the world plan, 50+ years now. HELLO! :-)

Not doubting your word,, just had to google that fact,, yep says made in china,, HOWEVER,,not designed in china,, 
What I am saying the chinese can only copy things,, they can not invent ideas, They steal, The Buick is designed in the USA, built by cheap labor and robots in china,, Huge dif from  a  tube designed/built in china and a  tube designed/built in russia, China copies the russians, 
Russia makes the superior 88, which is the only  push lull i consider worth owning. 
The 90 is nice, but no cigar.

Aside from that, just the other day I read about some Chinese car company that is planning to build a car manufacturing plant in the U.S.A. I forgot details.

Well with the Chinese Flu shutting down businesses across the USA, there will be plenty of opportunity for chinese tycoons to come snap up property on the cheap and move operations here, as the USA will soon have a
 huge labor market, ready and willing to work at whatever wages offered.
China is headed downwards, has no future, The USA is the only country that will surive the chinese flu
shut down
So makes sense to buy up cheap properties and move business here.
Cheap labor + shipping + warehouse etc etc = same as making here with cheap USA labor.
I am not interested in any chinese 88 tube, no matter how fancy the labeling. 

@mozartfan, This is quite the post. I have bought dozens and dozens and dozens of both Russian and Chinese made power tubes (mostly KT88s, but also many others). China has come a long way in their power tube reliability issues of previous years. Today's Chinese made tubes are much better than those of 5-10 + years ago.  Would still say the Russians are better for long term reliability. Have had to replace fewer of them in my amps over months of use.

As for sonic qualities, the best sounding most organic output tube is the Shuguang Western electric Plus series (WEKT88; same series available in  6CA7. 300B, 845,. etc); This tube family blows everything else into the weeds sonically.

But the reliability on these shuguang tubes is not as good as the  Russian made tubes (GL KT88 for example). So if you are going to run Chinese tubes, need to stock up on lots of spares, but you will get a nice sonic improvement by doing so. 

The Shuguang factory is in the process of moving so only real option for chinese tubes today is PSVANE, which are also good. Check out their KT88 gray glass tubes.  

From the Russian side, the GL KT8s are my favorite. do not sound as natural as the Chinese Shuguang WE varieties but are more reliable, and last longer.

For input tubes, really hard to be the PSVANE T-II 12A_7 series. They are reliable and sound exceptionally good.

for 6SN7 types, the Shuguang WE variety tops all, even NOS types.

best