reliable tube sources

I have dealt with all three of the above mentioned tube afficianados. All are very reputable,knowledgeable and helpful as well as being nice guys. Additionally, Adondysh , another "audiogoner" has - in my experience - proven himself and deserves mention. Turner Truitt/Atlanta

Dave: Try emailing Lonplate. He will be receiving some stock that may be just what you are looking for. Also what tubes are installed in the amp now and do you have any idea as to how many hours are on them?

The tubes in my preamp are the stock sovteks, vocals sound pretty good but everything else is lacking in a big way

Maybe they are spent as the Sovteks usually do vocals last on the list. When they are on the down side they start to sound bright (brittle) and thin. Is this what you are experiencing? The Audioasylum.com tube forum should have the search feature back up next week. Try doing a search under your amp and see what people are using in it with good results (other than Sovteks). This will give you an idea, anyway, of what to look for.

Kevin at Upscale Audio has steered me in the right direction a couple of times when I "needed" NOS tubes for my VTL gear. He did not make an issue out of the fact that I'd not purchased any actual gear from him. Also, Upscale is a Sonic Frontiers dealer, so I would think that Kevin would definitely be able to give you good feedback on choosing tubes. -Chris