Do you Know a Trusted Seller of Chinese Vacuum Tubes?
With the terrible Russian offensive/war and the drying up of NOS tubes, I ventured more deeply into Chinese tubes.
Does anyone have a recommended seller who might actually test for noise/microphonics? I wish Kevin Deal's outfit would start carrying some of the premium offerings. I'm surprised he doesn't given (I think) Primaluna branded tubes are likely Chinese (Shuguang, maybe?).
Some of the Chinese preamp tubes I've tried sound glorious. Getting them without noise can be a challenge.
I've known and bought from Victor for over twenty years and he is an honest, stand-up guy. Very enthusiastic about music and providing the most cost-effective solutions for audiophiles on a budget.
He doesn't carry all types of Chinese tubes, focusing mainly on making sure he has quality tubes of the types needed for his customers who purchase Ele-kit and Sunvalley kits through him (Victor is the North American distributor for both brands). He tests everything with his Amplitrex tester. His prices for tubes are some of the best I've seen and his customer service is superb.
If he carries what you need you can buy in complete confidence.
I've used http://www.jjyaudio.com/ several times for my Chinese tubes. They carry Linlai, Shuguang, PSVane, Fullmusic, JJ Tubes, and a bunch of Russian reproductions.
The owner Helen is easy to deal with, will give a recommendation (that I felt was honest.....she recommended a cheaper tube over a more expensive one), fast shipping, tubes well packed, fast communication.
Check out Ram Tubes they do extensive testing, it was Roger Modjesky of Music Reference's tube company. The EL34s I bought recently were chinese and have worked out well
The real problem is that out of a lot of 500 tubes, sometimes as many as 200 would test bad and/or be unmatchable and the manufacturer does not take them back.
Problem with extra testing is that these procedures take time and often buyers are not willing to spend the extra money. New production tubes are considered, often, just a commodity.
It would be nice if there were more retail sales partners based in North America (or Europe) who screen Chinese tubes before selling them.
Yes, that’s probably the point of this post. We need more North American resellers who test for noise. There are some great new tubes being made these days.
Grant Fidelity – Premium Vacuum Tubes (https://premiumvacuumtubes.com) is a seller which I trust for Linlai tubes. The Linlai Global Elites are very good vacuum tubes from China. Grant Fidelity provides testing and screening service beyond the testing which the manufacturer provides. Most of the vacuum tubes sold are used in SET circuits like 2A3s, 300Bs, 211, 845, and 274Bs. The variety of input tubes and other output tubes are limited though so Grant Fidelity may not serve everyone's needs.
It would be nice if there were more retail sales partners based in North America (or Europe) who screen Chinese tubes before selling them. There are some preselected varieties, like from Tube Amp Doctor (TAD) which are likely more consistent in quality than vacuum tubes bought from Amazon.com, or sellers based in China. TAD might still source from Russia and locations other than China, so it is best to do homework on each desired tube type regarding their likely origin.
Some JJ power tubes had serious problems ranging from premature death to pin size issues. This is heresay.
@audition__audio , no sarcasm intended and not intending to be a grammar nazi, but are you saying that this statement is hearsay, or are you saying that this is heresy?
Some JJ power tubes had serious problems ranging from premature death to pin size issues. This is heresay.
If you buy NOS tubes in the future you need to get them from a seller that tests for noise and microphonics with a guarantee. The only preamps that I have had problems with that werent phono preamps were offerings from Audible Illusions, Schiit (weird noise problems) and the 12AT7s in one of the Atma-sphere preamps. Oh and also the older CAT preamps in the 6922 section.
I don't believe JJ tubes are a problem. I know some people think they aren't great. But I also know there are manufacturers who use them and not because of their reasonable price alone. JJ preamp tubes can sound amazing so long as they are quiet!
I had a Shuguang KT-88T Nature series blow and take out a power supply. The tube had just gotten broken in. Sure, I suppose it can happen with any tube. But the Nature series was a top tier tube. I've had tubes blow before but never take out a power supply. I have little or no confidence in Chinese tubes now
Just bought set from Apos. Very attractive pricing and representations on quality.
@audition__audio , Yes, that's true, but I've had a few issues with NOS tubes (test strong but microphonic). I have a sensitive preamp. What's more, I have heard some of the Linlai and Shuguang higher end offerings and some of the rival NOS if not beat it, IMHO.
None of my post is meant to binary--one tube over the other, China better than Russia, NOS not available at all. I just meant it's nice to have options and the Chinese are making great tubes--Linlai and Shuguang have some interesting stuff.
@tkrtrb125, the war has increased prices on reissue Russian made tubes. New old stock are more scarce. I do not conflate Russia with China or comment on their respective human rights records.
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