[steve468]

This is what I’m hoping for with my Hytron 6C5 I have on the way. I was seeking them out due to how incredible the Russian 6S5S (6C5) is. They beat the snot out of every other driver I’ve rolled in my Agartha

I couldn't say whether the metal cans compare to the 6S5S. Maybe one day you hoarders will let some of them go!

(But seriously, I blinked one day and all the 6S5S were gone. What happened?)

 

[shwnwllms]

I couldn't say whether the metal cans compare to the 6S5S. Maybe one day you hoarders will let some of them go!

(But seriously, I blinked one day and all the 6S5S were gone. What happened?)

@Wes S happened

 

[VanHai]

I’ve really been enjoying American 6C5 lately. Got some Sylvania from 1948 that sound pretty great. But the real surprise, maybe of all my tubes, have been the seemingly unloved metal cans! I now have Ken-Rad (1943 American surplus from Germany - if those tubes could talk!) and RCA (purported to be 1957, but were they even making the cans then?). Both in great physical shape. And the sound, so transparent and open, neutral and natural - a cleaner window on the recording. Seems the metal cans have good reviews, but I was really surprised how good these are. For a more technical and detailed sound I wouldn’t hesitate to say they better the MUCH more expensive Melz 1578. Easily one of the best values in tubes that I’ve found.

I have these 2 pairs and waiting for my amp to be built.

 

[triod750]

I have these 2 pairs and waiting for my amp to be built.

You will be pleased! There is also a lot of Ken-Rad made 6J5GT/G around, branded Brimar.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Notice that when you

A lot of the bank mainframes are still running COBOL. Ever wondered why when you transfer money into your bank you don't see it immediately? The bank mainframes are running batch jobs that only run once per day. All the flashy new web and mobile apps are often simply lipstick on top of these old mainframes.

Apart from those old mainframes, things have changed quite a lot in the computer science world since the punch card days @bcowen Microsoft introduced ChatGPT a year ago, and are already making $800m in revenue per quarter with AI. Nuts.

In Japan you can still go to University, in the year 2024, to get a degree in COBOL programming. There is actually high demand for it there to keep those old financial systems going.

 

[mordy]

This must be the first time from you, Mordy
Never seen this before.

Do people have experience buying new production Chinese tubes on AliExpress at discount prices? EBay? How can you be sure that you don't get seconds or rejects?
One of the distributors of Lin Lai tubes claims that off price tubes are seconds - is this true?

 

[CAJames]

Do people have experience buying new production Chinese tubes on AliExpress at discount prices? EBay? How can you be sure that you don't get seconds or rejects?
One of the distributors of Lin Lai tubes claims that off price tubes are seconds - is this true?

I have heard that as well, but I think it is difficult to prove one way or the other. IMO you pays your money and you takes your chances. You are more likely to get first quality tubes paying full retail from a well known dealer.

 

[Isaacc7]

I have heard that as well, but I think it is difficult to prove one way or the other. IMO you pays your money and you takes your chances. You are more likely to get first quality tubes paying full retail from a well known dealer.

Or at least be able to return them.

 

[TLO]

Do people have experience buying new production Chinese tubes on AliExpress at discount prices? EBay? How can you be sure that you don't get seconds or rejects?
One of the distributors of Lin Lai tubes claims that off price tubes are seconds - is this true?

So far, I have bought 2 pairs of PSVANE tubes, ACME 805 and WE300B, through the domestic platform of AliExpress, TaoBao in China. Bought them from reputable resellers and dont have any problems, tubes are new in box. 805 has been over 2 years with about 8000 hrs and WE300B about 1 year with 4000 hrs. BTW, I have not seen the so-called discounted prices at AliExpress, those are in fact the normal retail prices. Prices from oversea importers are way over-priced, IMO. If you were to order through TaoBao, the prices are even lower than AliExpress.

P.S. Perhaps search for the seller, GD-PARTS Audio Store, at AliExpress. They are the authorized seller of PSVANE products in China.

 

[nwavesailor]

I’ve been primarily using Siemens C3G and STC / ITT 5A /152M drivers in my Envy for a few months and love the level of detail with both tubes.

I was consolidating my tube collection tonight and saw a quad of one of my favorite 6J5G, Tung Sol VT-94A.

What a great 6J5!!!
Beautiful Sound from top to bottom, barely microphonic and quiet. Glad I put them in tonight!

 

[bcowen]

Do people have experience buying new production Chinese tubes on AliExpress at discount prices? EBay? How can you be sure that you don't get seconds or rejects?
One of the distributors of Lin Lai tubes claims that off price tubes are seconds - is this true?

I've purchased PSVane tubes a couple times from an Ebay seller. In both cases this seller's price wasn't the lowest among the listings, but he had a long history on Ebay and offered a 30-day guarantee. No problems. The tubes certainly look to be genuine, and they have all tested at NOS levels or higher. Ebay is always a crap shoot, but these transactions worked out quite nicely. And I'm fortunate to have a tester -- I probably wouldn't buy tubes from Ebay without it.

 

[CAJames]

And I'm fortunate to have a tester -- I probably wouldn't buy tubes from Ebay without it.

True that. OTOH I've had mixed results trying to get my money back for poorly testing tubes. People ask me if they should buy a tube tester now and I tell them for what tube testers cost you can afford to pay extra for a lot of tubes from reputable sellers.

 

[Designsfx]

I’ve considered buying a tester in the past but see both sides of the story. Before purchasing my dac my needs would have been solely for tracking the life of KT150 power tubes which I think limit my choice of testers. If I purchased one now it would be too easy to start bulk buying cheap tubes to sort into appropriately matching quads (basically hoarding).

 

[CAJames]

I’ve considered buying a tester in the past but see both sides of the story. Before purchasing my dac my needs would have been solely for tracking the life of KT150 power tubes which I think limit my choice of testers. If I purchased one now it would be too easy to start bulk buying cheap tubes to sort into appropriately matching quads (basically hoarding).

Tube testers are a bit of a hobby horse for me, so those who have heard this rant before will need to excuse me.

<rant>The thing about (most) tube testers is they are designed to test if tubes are bad, not if they are good or matched. The engineers at Hickok, HP and etc. had an almost impossible job: to pick a single operating point from the entire phase space of currents and voltages to test to determine if a tube needs to be replaced. And by in large they did an amazing job solving that problem, but IMO, the relevance to audio is limited. Yes, if you pay for a "NOS" tube and it tests weak there is a problem. And I always test tubes (and adapters) for shorts before putting them in an amp. But in general the more tubes I test the less correlation I find between test results and audio quality. Weak tubes can sound great, and last a long time in an audio application. Or put another way, your amp and your ears is really the best way to test tubes for audio.

And then there is "matching," which is a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Is the operating point you test the tubes at the same as the operating point in your amp? Probably not, so just because tubes match on your tester doesn't mean they are matched, and visa versa. There are fancy testers that can test tubes at an arbitrary operating point, or even better over a range of operating points (curve tracers), and those are truly useful tests. But they are even more expensive than a "plain" Gm tester. Some tube dealers will include the curves with tubes you buy, and you can buy a lot legitimately tested and matched tubes for what a high end tester costs these days. </rant>

All that said, if you're really interested in tubes, a tester is a useful (and fun) thing to have, and as far as hobbies go it is way better than cooking meth, as a tell my wife.

 

[ARCXENOS]

True that. OTOH I've had mixed results trying to get my money back for poorly testing tubes. People ask me if they should buy a tube tester now and I tell them for what tube testers cost you can afford to pay extra for a lot of tubes from reputable sellers.

I basically live by "if I have enough 85% tubes, I don't need a tester because they will all be 83% after 10 years"

Those new testers are too expensive , but I really want one someday when I look like I have a warehouse. But with that said, I never buy "true" NOS stuff because I can never prove it in my situation now, just 85-90% ish stuff from known ebay dealers that most importantly, are priced as such