Why limit yourself to Chinese? Still a great many old stock preamp tubes available from numerous reliable sellers.
Do you Know a Trusted Seller of Chinese Vacuum Tubes?
With the terrible Russian offensive/war and the drying up of NOS tubes, I ventured more deeply into Chinese tubes.
Does anyone have a recommended seller who might actually test for noise/microphonics? I wish Kevin Deal's outfit would start carrying some of the premium offerings. I'm surprised he doesn't given (I think) Primaluna branded tubes are likely Chinese (Shuguang, maybe?).
Some of the Chinese preamp tubes I've tried sound glorious. Getting them without noise can be a challenge.
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Just bought set from Apos. Very attractive pricing and representations on quality. @audition__audio , Yes, that's true, but I've had a few issues with NOS tubes (test strong but microphonic). I have a sensitive preamp. What's more, I have heard some of the Linlai and Shuguang higher end offerings and some of the rival NOS if not beat it, IMHO. None of my post is meant to binary--one tube over the other, China better than Russia, NOS not available at all. I just meant it's nice to have options and the Chinese are making great tubes--Linlai and Shuguang have some interesting stuff. |
Thank you @tkrtrb125. I'm going to compare some Linlai to some NOS short and follow up. |
I had a Shuguang KT-88T Nature series blow and take out a power supply. The tube had just gotten broken in. Sure, I suppose it can happen with any tube. But the Nature series was a top tier tube. I've had tubes blow before but never take out a power supply. I have little or no confidence in Chinese tubes now |
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