Advice about what to do with not-needed tubes?


I recently tried out a tube preamp that I had to return because of a buzz in one channel. Now I'm on the fence about repurchasing the same model or going "tubeless," since my particular system didn't really benefit from tubes more than a little bit and I can't afford to go with tubes whole hog. So, my question as a tube neophyte is, assuming I don't replace the unit, should I return the NOS tubes I bought back to the various resellers and pay the restocking fees, or would it be smarter to wait and sell them later? They're mainly 12at7s. Judging from discussion boards, tubes appreciate in value with scarcity. Not seeing a lot of gear that uses 12at7s, though, so I'm not sure about these. In particular, I've got some that are in white boxes because they were from bulk lots.
I'm also wondering about the fact that I'm a total unknown when I go to sell, so it'll just be my word plus pics as to the condition and "provenance" of the tubes. I'd appreciate any advice.

[I tried to post this before, listing the equipment, but it was declined. Trying again in more general terms, since it seems a perfectly appropriate question for the community, particularly given how many posts in this thread are about tubes as well as tube preamps/amps]
adlevision

Showing 3 responses by adlevision

Thanks for the responses. Until three weeks ago, I hadn't seen a vacuum tube since I was a ham radio operator 30 years ago as a kid. So, learning from scratch. Consensus seems to be that I'm not likely to recoup my investment easily. There's a guy down the way who repairs tube gear, so I might pay him to run a tester on the tubes if I try to sell them. Some have test results provided.

@lostbears: It's a Dared SL-2000a, which I know several folks around here have owned--the reason I got it. I bought all the tubes the cool kids were using, including Brimar 5v4g, Brimar 4033s--the "blemished" white box with TubeMonger bases--plus TUngshram e80cc NIB that I haven't opened yet, as well as an RCA rectifier and Sylvania grey plate triple micas. Like everyone said a few years back, the preamp is good gear "with the right tubes." The soundstage enhancement it offered was much more noticeable on a traditional solid state amp than it was on my class D. In fact, the all-Brimar complement brought the AB amp so close to the Abletec/Tripath sound, only a bit better, that it put me on the fence about whether the investment and added system complexity was worthwhile for me. I like it, but don't really miss it, given my other equipment.

Frugality seldom wins out in my audio system, so I think we all can guess what I will end up doing. But I'll see if I'm still in the return window on the tubes that weren't ideal in my system, however. Thanks again for the feedback.
Oh, and @Timrhu: certainly swapped the tubes. I think it may have been a loose tube socket, since that one rattled just a little bit when I tapped it. Or ungrounded wire, or wire touching the transformer. Seemed unlikely to be just a ground loop, being only in once channel regardless of outlet and with nothing plugged into the inputs.

I actually had asked for a replacement, not a refund (including 2-way shipping, which was nice), but now I have the choice to repurchase, wait for a used one to go up for sale here, or to call it an educational experience and move on. The freedom to decide is nice...except when it isn't:) I'd hate to rebuy and have that one buzz to--not good for either me or the seller. Anyway, input on that issue is welcome, but I feel like I got my thread question answered by the above posts.
@Super390: Wow, a real post! I guess I invited the jokes with the title of the thread...

Well, I can ultimately provide measurements, one way or another, and all but 4 of them are in original boxes. One of these years, I'll give it a shot, since the restocking fee for one order would have been the price of one of the tubes and most others couldn't be returned, as it turned out. I had looked at the insane price-rise in AT7s since 2010, and wondered if it was going to keep going up. People on this thread, who have much more experience, seem to be implying it has plateaued, at least in the nearish term. Not a big deal: I'll get something back. And, there's always the Crhistmas tree.

Your great deal on tubes sounds like what people were saying about 5695s in the Dared, another computer 12AT7 equivalent that obviously (from the prices) hasn't caught on yet. I read that these uber-expensive Tungsram e80cc were flip-flop logic tubes, too (sounds like political tubes!) so they might even sound the same. As my "experiment" with tubes, I figured the only way for me to really judge would be to get the ones that "everyone" had said they liked the best, and call it an educational expense. Total cost of a set of 3 tubes I was using at the last, though, was the same as yours ...only with a 0 at the end.

As you experienced, the Dared is too much gain. Largely for fun and curiosity, I bought it to put it in front of a Parasound Zamp v3, which has a sensitivity of .6V and my DAC puts out 2V! 9:00 syndrome and hard to gain stage (lower-gain tubes in a preamp won't do all that much to change this, I've read, even if they worked). Sounded fairly non-detrimental and noticeably tuby anyway, though, so still thinking about it. It was the only piece of gear my GF has actually ever noticed, sitting down to put her nose practically on the volume knob. "It's pretty!" she said, gazing into the glow. Definite first. I don't think she wanted me to return it, though she couldn't give a crap about the sound.