I run a lot of the Psvane and Shuguang Treasure tubes in my gear and I buy their Premium Grade/T series on eBay from a few different sellers, have never been disappointed.
Best PLace To Buy Chinese Tubes?
Can anyone tell me some reliable places to buy Chinese tubes on line?
Grant Fidelity seems very expensive but I guess they are reliable.
Has anyone dealt with the Chinese site "Tube-Sale.com?"
They seem more reasonable but are their tube top quality?
Of course the Psvane factory site warns of inferior tubes sold on line and they direct you to the Grant Fidelity site. But $580.00 for a quad set of CV181 TII tubes is pretty high. Maybe that's the price you have top pay for quality?
I installed a matched pair of Psvane Premium Grade 12AX7-T MKII that I bought on Amazon and was really impressed with the sound. They replaced a matched pair of Tung-Sol re-issues. I am using matched Genalex Gold Lion KT88 for power tubes and am pleased with these. Not really sure how much power tubes affect overall sound however.
So right now just looking to replace the four 6SN7s. I have a Chinese integrate and it seems to like even the stock Chinese tubes over the Russians. Guess that stands to reason, no? Maybe it will really appreciate some premium Chinese tubes? Can't hurt!
I appreciate any suggestions.
Grant Fidelity seems very expensive but I guess they are reliable.
Has anyone dealt with the Chinese site "Tube-Sale.com?"
They seem more reasonable but are their tube top quality?
Of course the Psvane factory site warns of inferior tubes sold on line and they direct you to the Grant Fidelity site. But $580.00 for a quad set of CV181 TII tubes is pretty high. Maybe that's the price you have top pay for quality?
I installed a matched pair of Psvane Premium Grade 12AX7-T MKII that I bought on Amazon and was really impressed with the sound. They replaced a matched pair of Tung-Sol re-issues. I am using matched Genalex Gold Lion KT88 for power tubes and am pleased with these. Not really sure how much power tubes affect overall sound however.
So right now just looking to replace the four 6SN7s. I have a Chinese integrate and it seems to like even the stock Chinese tubes over the Russians. Guess that stands to reason, no? Maybe it will really appreciate some premium Chinese tubes? Can't hurt!
I appreciate any suggestions.
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I would suggest going to the link below and buy two matched pairs. I have never been disappointed by any tubes sourced from Cryoset. I have tried Psvanes in the not to distant past but they got noisy after a half year or so in circuit. http://www.cryoset.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_42&products_id=123&osCsid=0a4o4i7fccbcugftg62g2locn3 |
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I'm not one to put a lot of stock in Cryo treated electronics. I'm not an expert but from all that I've read I think the jury is out on the benefits and they do demand a premium price. I am curious, though, if the Psvane tubes that became noisy after only 6 months were power tubes or preamp tubes? My thought in buying Chinese tubes was to get them directly from a Chinese source. The Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z offered by the Tube Store (& others) is an older variation of this tube from what I can see. The Treasure MKII is a newer version. I have not see anything that proves it is better however. I did come across an interesting site via the DHgate site. Vic Audio-Hi-Fi appears to be a Chinese outlet with great prices for Psvane & Shuguang tubes. I'm trying to get more info on them. Sometimes when it's too good to be true, it's just that. Too good to be true! Thanks to you all for the input! |
wcc10 OP I’m not one to put a lot of stock in Cryo treated electronics. I’m not an expert but from all that I’ve read I think the jury is out on the benefits and they do demand a premium price. I am curious, though, if the Psvane tubes that became noisy after only 6 months were power tubes or preamp tubes? The jury is still out? Well, I guess it is in the sense folks who use em tend to like em and the naysayers claim it’s bogus. So, what else is new? Besides, if someone buys a cryo’d tube how could he possibly know what the difference is? He has nothing to compare it to. Additionally Cryo is not expensive. About $1 per tube if you employ a Cryo lab yourself. If someone pays an exorbitant price who’s fault is that? |
@wcc10 Just because you have a Chinese integrated, doesn't mean you need to use Chinese sourced tubes. Cryoset's treatment does little to the purchase price of the tubes but, anecdotally does seem to add to the effective lifespan of the tubes. Don't get me wrong, if you really want Chinese tubes then I hope you find a good source for them at a reasonable price. IMHO you should give the new production Tung-Sol at Cryoset a shot. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you achieve the sound quality you are after.😀 |
I did a "new production" 6SN7 tube shootout several years ago. I used them in a preamp and DAC. Here were my results 1. Shuguang Black Treasure CV-181 "Z" 2. Sophia Electric 6SN7 3. Shuguang Black Treasure CV-181 "T" 4. Shuguang Black Treasure CV-181 "TII" There were several others, but nothing to write home about. I found the "T" and "TII" to be too bright in my system. They did have more detail, but it reared it's ugly head as brightness. Cryoing a tube is a HUGE waist of money. I have several pairs of different tubes that one set has been cryoed and the other not. There is absolutely NO difference in sound. I have read that "maybe" if you cryo a tube, it will last longer. No real way to prove that. |
Good input all! Sure, I know I do not have to use Chinese tubes. I've used both Chinese, re-issue Russian & NOS GE. My interest in the upgrade Chinese tubes is mainly due to the fact that I do have 2 Psvane Premium 12ax7s now which I feel greatly improved sound over Tung-Sol re-issues & stock Chinese tubes. Thus my desire to try the CV-181-T MKII. I can understand increased brightness with that tube, the Psvane 6SN7s were a little brighter but not to the point where it is too much. I feel they opened up the sound stage some especially in Triode. I've found some possible locations via Alibaba. I've not had good luck with electronics on eBay at all! Maybe I'll try Alibaba unless anyone can tell me why not to! Thanks all! |
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To reflect on my experience with the Tung-Sol re-issue 6SN7, I came across a review of the Psvane CV-181-T MKII from 2012 by
Srajan Ebaen
on the 6 Moons website. This is how he described the Tung-Sol; "any longer session should show that this effect is achieved by shifting listener focus on more foreground data. One becomes rather less conscious of surrounding supportive threads. This presentation felt more like upper mid-level transistors. The prime quality was vivid clarity with a touch of hyper focus and reduced depth of field" Exactly how I found this tube in my system. I found it produced a very shallow sound stage and it did not have that lush tube sound. I'm sure all of this is system dependent, so they may sound totally different in a different preamp. Ebaen 's review of the Psvane CV-181-T MKII came down to this; "The Psvane tube played it denser. It soundstaged deeper, was
texturally wetter ('bloomier' or more luscious) and also felt a bit more laid
back and settled." "any rhythmically incisive complex-layered fare
filled out without getting even a tiny bit opaque or 'blended'." I believe he was comparing the Psvane to Shuguang's Black Treasure CV-181. Review link below: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/psvane/1.html |
Just bumped across this thread. Here's my two bits' worth: Buy your Chinese directly from a Chinese seller of good repute. Most are on Fleabay but I see a few on Amazon, too. Whether PSVane or SG, plan on a 1 in 15-20 either DOA or very short-lived. China Post makes it prohibitively expensive to return bad tubes under warranty, so consider them hood ornaments. I too, hear better music coming from Chinese 6SN7 types than I have any Russian offering and some, IIMHO, better than the best NOS Sylvanias and RCAs. No experience with that tube type of European manufacture. |
https://www.hifi-amplifiers.com/en/t/vacuum-tubes-k-142.html I usually get the tubes in 5 days upon order. I bought 3 tubes from there so far. Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z has a very organic and 3-d sound, https://www.hifi-amplifiers.com/en/shuguang-treasure-cv181z-electron-tubes-best-matched-pair-p-473.h... |
I too have been purchasing the matched pairs of the PSVANE 12AX7-T MK II from Grant Fidelity paying a premium, as they are suppose to be more of a guaranty that they have picked the best pairs. The link above is selling the same tubes for about $36 bucks less ($64 VS $100) per pair. Does anyone have any experience or opinion (who doesn't) of how much risk there is the tubes are not as good a match or are more microphonic/loud/other? Thanks and happy holidays all! George |