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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. 

 

128x128jbhiller
emergingsoul
1,130 posts
 

Why are JJ tubes a problem? Is the manufacturing process really subpar? Does anyone really know anything about JJ manufacturing

jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,403 posts
 

I don't believe JJ tubes are a problem. I know some people think they aren't great. But I also know there are manufacturers who use them and not because of their reasonable price alone. JJ preamp tubes can sound amazing so long as they are quiet!

audition__audio
1,480 posts
 

Some JJ power tubes had serious problems ranging from premature death to pin size issues. This is heresay. 

If you buy NOS tubes in the future you need to get them from a seller that tests for noise and microphonics with a guarantee. The only preamps that I have had problems with that werent phono preamps were offerings from Audible Illusions, Schiit (weird noise problems) and the 12AT7s in one of the Atma-sphere preamps. Oh and also the older CAT preamps in the 6922 section.

 

immatthewj
1,898 posts
 

Some JJ power tubes had serious problems ranging from premature death to pin size issues. This is heresay.

@audition__audio , no sarcasm intended and not intending to be a grammar nazi, but are you saying that this statement is hearsay, or are you saying that this is heresy?

riparian
13 posts
 

Grant Fidelity – Premium Vacuum Tubes (https://premiumvacuumtubes.com) is a seller which I trust for Linlai tubes. The Linlai Global Elites are very good vacuum tubes from China. Grant Fidelity provides testing and screening service beyond the testing which the manufacturer provides. Most of the vacuum tubes sold are used in SET circuits like 2A3s, 300Bs, 211, 845, and 274Bs. The variety of input tubes and other output tubes are limited though so Grant Fidelity may not serve everyone's needs. 

It would be nice if there were more retail sales partners based in North America (or Europe) who screen Chinese tubes before selling them. There are some preselected varieties, like from Tube Amp Doctor (TAD) which are likely more consistent in quality than vacuum tubes bought from Amazon.com, or sellers based in China. TAD might still source from Russia and locations other than China, so it is best to do homework on each desired tube type regarding their likely origin.

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