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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
audition__audio
1,493 posts
 

immathew thanks. Yes it was meant to be hearsay. 

Problem with extra testing is that these procedures take time and often buyers are not willing to spend the extra money. New production tubes are considered, often, just a commodity. 

jwpstayman
400 posts
 

The real problem is that out of a lot of 500 tubes, sometimes as many as 200 would test bad and/or be unmatchable and the manufacturer does not take them back.

dcdiscs
2 posts
 

Check out Ram Tubes they do extensive testing, it was Roger Modjesky of Music Reference's tube company. The EL34s I bought recently were chinese and have worked out well

https://www.ramtubes.com/

 

 

jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,406 posts
 

@dcdiscs  big thanks for this source. The big issue is getting quiet quality tubes. 

vthokie83
864 posts
 

jbhiller

Just saw this thread, so I'm late to post

I've used http://www.jjyaudio.com/ several times for my Chinese tubes. They carry Linlai, Shuguang, PSVane, Fullmusic, JJ Tubes, and a bunch of Russian reproductions.

The owner Helen is easy to deal with, will give a recommendation (that I felt was honest.....she recommended a cheaper tube over a more expensive one), fast shipping, tubes well packed, fast communication.

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