What are we going to do about Tele 12AU7 prices

how various makes of tubes sound -- au7 ax7 6dj8 6sn7 and so on -- depends on the circuit/application, the condition of the tube

typically real german tele’s and siemens have a more spotlit character, at the expense of bass fullness - tungsrams from hungary are similar in character, they are excellent subs for tele-lovers

uk mullards are the opposite, more warmth and rolled off treble

dutch amperex/mazda are somewhere in the middle, perhaps a touch closer to the german character

american made old stock can vary as well, rca’s and philips ecg are generally well balanced, with nice extended highs, sylvania more treble centric, ge’s more rolled off

these are generalizations, specifics can vary considerably

It comes down to priorities and what one is willing to spend.  I would have to mull over whether to spend $120.00 on a single tube; others would not hesitate.  The OP is one who thinks that is excessive, and I agree with him.  This is one reason I hesitated before purchasing any tube equipment — the cost of rolling/replacing tubes.  

Some members here suggest the necessity of breaking the bank . . if you are really an audiophile, if you really care about quality sound, then of course you buy into whatever others say you need to do, either to pay or “why bother?”

I would prefer to think that a lot of people other than myself don’t have riches to invest in a hobby and that there are other worthwhile things in life that deserve our time, attention and money.  We have to balance the value of each aspect and allot our money accordingly.  I spent 37 years as a lowly social worker — my choice — and now live on a fixed income that is comfortable but certainly not lavish.  I applaud those who followed more lucrative career paths and now have ten’s of thousands of dollars to spend on a hobby.  I enjoy reading about such people’s exploits, but it’s not me, and I think I still belong.

Well said @bob540

The art of the hobby on the tube side of things is to properly match the system. Obvious I know but there is alot of terrific sounding gear that doesn't require an esoteric tube set to sound exceptional. For instance, Audio Note ships with a nice blend of new production tubes with the occasional NOS tube here or there. Shindo utilizes non traditional tubes that can be quite inexpensive. Leben sounds amazing with all new production tubes and with rare exceptions, rolling in NOS doesn't necessarily mean better....just a little different. These manufacturers voice their gear that way. Audio Research uses reasonably priced new production tubes and they achieve terrific results and besides, other than some of the unobtainable Reflektors, there are no other makes in 6h30's or KT150's.

For most of us in the hobby, NOS tubes can emphasize certain sonic traits that we either enjoy being overemphasized or more likely, certain NOS tubes help us OVERCOME the shortcomings of the gear we have chosen.  Be it vintage, new production or gear that comes equipped with questionable quality new production tube sets, there are some wonderful tubes being made today for audio purposes.

My next comment applies to me and to many others I am sure. I buy a piece of gear and let it break in, and I love it. Then I decide if its good as is, imagine how good it could/would be if I rolled in X, Y or Z NOS tubes. SOME modern gear can benefit from NOS tubes but not always. MOST vintage gear benefits from NOS tubes but not always. Listen to an old Scott 222c full of NOS Teles and an old Mullard rectifier and you wonder why we even bother to chase the grail when that 60 year old integrated sounds that good. I've connected mine to $20k+ speakers and a $10k + dac and I just shake my head. Its the cocktail of the old iron, well done circuits and the best of tube manufacturing from a time when tubes were mission critical. With that said, there is some amazing new gear being manufactured today that show just how far the art has evolved.

@petg60  

In the 12AX7 world, Tesla E83CC are nearly indistinguishable from my Telefunken 12AX7.  Detailed, quiet at hell, flat response, just utterly step out of the way.  This is in the primary position of my Zestos phono amp.  Teslas are a relative bargain.   I paid maybe $60 for the NOS pair. 

Tesla used same tooling as Teles so there comes the resemblance.
Tesla E83CC is a great tube anyway.
But pricing of ECC802S, ECC82 has gone up.