ARC Ref 3: Tung-Sol 6550 in power supply?

Thanks, time to get some new tubes and hear the difference. What's the difference between the tubes that are being sold by Gon members in the ARC section which are half the price and buying directly from ARC and paying at least 100% more.

How much does ARC charge for their 6H30's?
Are they PI's or DR's?

John

To the best of my knowledge, ARC supplies a matched set of 5 Sovtek 6H30PI for approx $240. The same tubes can be sourced from the Tubestore for $21 each, with a $5 premium per tube for matching. EH golden variant is about $2 more than Sovtek. See:
http://thetubestore.com/6h30types.html
Guido

I thought I had read somewhere that the 6H30 tubes were rated for 10,000 hours? I understand that this is probably a pipe dream but 1800 hours is a long way off 10,000.

I've got over 600 hours on my LS-26 so maybe I need to plan on an earlier swap out than first anticipated???

BTW, I have been to the Tube Store and they are great guys.

RGD, the answer is: not necessarily. the LS 26 is not the Ref 3. . . it is quite possible that the Ref 3 may drive those tubes harder. Keep listening to your system. . . your ears will let you know when the sound were starting to decline. It is also possible that tube lifespan may be a function of the system downstream. . . Until 3 months ago I have been driving a set of old Maggies IIIAs, which are notorious bears. Someone with more experience on tubes than I have may comment on effect of system downstream on tube lifespan.