Why Can't Modern Tube Manufacturers Make a Proper Tube?


Current tube manufacturers, at least the ones I have tried should be utterly ashamed at their ineptness, apathy, ignorance, or whatever it is that makes them seemingly unable to make a tube properly.

And I never knew what I was missing before I tried reclaimed tubes from the 1950's, an era where people build things instead of ruining things.

The present manufactures are said to have the actual machinery to make tubes for which they have examples in hand and schematics on file, but they just can't do it.

Is this a case of Idiocracy? Are people just stupid today? The world and all creation do follow the 2nd rule of thermodynamics so I guess this is the case.

Listening to Black Plate RCA’s and Mullards in my system, even for a short time made it glaringly obvious that modern manufactures are embarrassingly inadequate. There is absolutely no comparison.

Why can't modern tube manufacturers make a proper tube?

1. lack of IQ?

2. Apathy? 

3. Lack of Materials?

4. Lost knowledge? 

 

128x128tonydennison

I remember going into your local drug store and there you would find a RCA tube tester and underneath it would be where they held the RCA tubes.I worked for HL Dalis back in 1970.They sold electronics equipment and parts to every tv -stereo tepair shops from NYC to NJ,Conn and all of Long Island.We sold all types of tubes and TV screen tubes and some of them were big and heavy.I was and inventory ckerk making 0ne dollar and hour ,$40 a week,lol.I was 18,lol.

 

Not too many years passed, I was in a conversation with a individual I met at a Forum get together where Valves are pretty much the thing and some very unfinished looking builds have Mercury Spill Kits on standby.

In a brief conversation, I was discussing Valves and the differences of impression tube rolling can create. The individual was a few streets in front of myself, they were making it known they were quite happy to detach the Manufacturers Base Pins and attach Pins of their own designs.

It was something being intimated that I should attempt to carry out.

As most of my interest in audio equipment over the past 5+years has been extending my investigations of all interfaces withing the signal path, the idea, of looking into discovering where a improvement can be found at the Valve/Valve Base Interface, should not be too far off limits.

My earliest investigations took me to a Valve Base used on my Phon', that locks onto the Valve Base Pins so tightly the removal of the Valve is quite a task, especially when assessed in comparison to a typical Valve Base Pin tightness as a connection.  

When I tube rolled this Phon' it was agreed the Valve Guards were removed for the exercise.

Using a Valve Base like the one mentioned, certainly begs the question about the quality of the solder connection of the Sleeve that covers the some of the Wire Valves  Base Pins on certain designs for a Valve.