Deano: I certainly did not mean to sound as aggressive as my post came off. I just re-read it and I was a tad too strong. :(
Andy has a great reputation and does the work necessary to choose what is worth owning. He is very expensive, but most can rest at ease when purchasing from him. I just think that those manufacturers who know the tubes well enough, know what current production tubes will excel. Even more so than most of the NOS tubes available.
I have no doubt that Vladimir suggested Tele's to you, but did he think it would improve the sound of his equipment? I am not so sure.
I tried numerous replacements (Telefunken, Amperex, etc.) for the JJ ECC83S tubes in the Tenor amps and never found anything that came close. The sound changed, and it was different, but to my ears, never as quiet and never as clear as with the current production JJ's.
Why is it that manufacturers like Tenor, Joule Electra, BAT, and LAMM successfully use the 6C33's when Atma-sphere was never able to properly use them? Nothing against Ralph, but the other manufacturers knew exactly which 6C33 tubes to order. My point, again, is that if the manufacturer really knows the history of the tubes and how to hand pick them, for what he or she is using, it is hard to find a replacement NOS tube that would better it.
