Mullard EL34 that sounds best

My Cary amp uses a dozen EL34s and NOS or used vintage is way out of my price range.  The first time I retubed it I bought the Mullard re-issues from Viva, and they didn't seem to hold up very long, but that may have been partly my fault.  I replaced those with the reissued Tung Sols from Jim McShane, and I personally liked everything about that batch better.  Sorry, as I know this was not an answer to your question.

I have always read that caution should be used when buying vintage used or theoretically NOS from Ebay.  My own personal experience was buying some RCA black glass VT231s from some guy in France, and two of them quit working not too terribly long after I took delivery, and I took the rest of them out and put them in storage after that. 

I doubt you’re interested, but if you were to try new EL34s, if it were me I’d be using one of the JJ types (they make two)

I have had good luck with JJ EL34 type 1. Sound great.

@atmasphere ​​​​@oddiofyl , I’ll keep that in mind as sooner or later I am going to need a dozen of them. (I know someone who swears by the JJ 12ax7s, and I did put JJ 6sn7s in my preamp and I think they sound okay.) Anyway, any suggestions on who does a good job of matching them?

On edit:  I see that JJ has KT77s out, I wonder how they are?

And as far as type I and type II, I see a set they are specifically calling EL34s type II and the rest are just EL34s, so are the ones that are called EL34s the type I?