One has to be careful with broad brush statements when their are so many variables at play. I use a mix of NOS & Chinese tubes in my systems with excellent success. The NOS 845's & 300B's were just a little too expensive for my budget. I used the Shuguang ,Nature series & 300B Treasure Series in my Cary 211 amps & I am very happy with the sound as well as the reliability. I had the 300B's cryo treated which kicked their performance up another notch.
