Jfrech,
I am sure there are many people who would be happy with the stock tubes which a manufacturer selects for quality out of larger lots. However the tubes the manufacturer must choose from are only those that are currently available in large enough numbers to permit a reliable supply chain. The sound of those tubes are still limited by the inherent quality of the materials and processes that go into making them.
Many old tubes are indeed noisy or have other faults but there are still quite a few around that simply sound better than the stock tube does no matter how carefully selected. I love my old tubes and yes, I got some that aren't good, but I got many that simply blow current production tubes out of the water.
I must say that I am thankful that great strides are being made in current production. I have been very impressed with the current Gold Lion tubes in particular. Indeed some manufacturers are using the GL tubes, but I remain amazed by how many products come with the cheapest tubes around. I wonder if there isn't some silly misguided penny pinching going on in some cases.
