What are some of the better tuners out there?

mitchb

something is wrong, very wrong, with your equipment, tester, or ...

these tubes last avg. 10,000 hours.

Audio Classics just overhauled my 1962 tube tuner/preamp, 17 tubes, some appear to be original. They all tested good on my tester before I sent it. They all tested good there, none replaced. They said they most often find no bad tubes.

I have an old SAE tuner that I hooked up to use. It worked pulled in every station in the area. Then one day XRT was broadcasting a concert I wanted to listen to. It was a bad weather day and the signal was compromised. I logged into their web page snd clucked on the “listen to” tab. The sound was close to a 100% improvement over the tuner. The tuner does not have hd capability and that was the difference I heard. Tuner is back in box and I onlt stream radio stations now.

"I find myself needing to replace my tubes every 4 months or so and I don’t use my tuner that much."

Clearly that's not normal. You weren't doing that when it was new.

As mentioned in my original post-tuner tubes are  not driven hard. They can last decades. Either you're using inferior tubes or it's an issue with the tuner. 

audioguy85 mentions the Cambridge Audio 500T. I have the 550T as a backup. They are not the caliber you're looking for, but good functional inexpensive SS tuners.

Seek out a Pioneer Elite F-93.  It slayed the Day-Sequerra and the Naim Tuner in its Stereopile review.  The only reason it wasn't given the five star treatment was that it was Pacific Rim sourced and at that time and in that place, Pacific Rim Tuners weren't allowed to be "Five Stars" in their pages.  If you read between the lines it's easy to see what's since become completely transparent "damning with faint praise" because (the old, '90s Pioneer Elite) wasn't funding their advertising revenue gravy train.

@ricktpt 

That is the biggest pile of BS I have heard here to date.