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Tube Dealers

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Bigfish8:
I am interested to know tube dealers that you have used and would purchase from again.  My experience is as follows:

Various ebay suppliers -- no bad experiences yet with the exception that sometimes the tube pins are not clean.

http://vintagetubeservices.com/   Andy seems like a really nice guy and I received a quality pair of tubes from him but I had to wait about 6 weeks to receive them.

http://www.partsconnexion.com/  Excellent communication and immediate shipment.  I will definitely use them again if they have the tube I need.  Currently one of the few places left with the 6H30-DRs.

https://www.tubeworld.com/index_high.htm  Owner is very direct but immediately ships once order is placed.  I have purchased 3 tubes from him and will likely purchase again because he has a nice selection of NOS Tubes.

I look forward to reading about your experiences.

Ken

richidoo:
I've used Andy, he has some nice stuff, and a lot to teach about the value of tubes if you can stand his business style. I had to call and reorder again after 2 months of nothing, which meant ME remembering all the tubes he recommended in the first conversation.  I'm glad I wrote it down. But he made some great suggestions which worked very well for me with my Cary SLI-80
http://vintagetubeservices.com/

Jim McShane seems to have a good following and rep. He is a strong presence on Asylum where he espouses wisdom about tubes all the time. I have not purchased from him yet.
http://pages.prodigy.net/jimmcshane/

Eurotubes is exclusively JJ tubes. Service was excellent, but the tubes are still JJs. Sometimes they are awesome, sometimes they sound awesome but are noisy, crooked, unreliable. Sometimes they just suck.
http://www.eurotubes.com/  Five days now, I'm still waiting for a email reply about JJ EL509. Usually it is 20 minutes from him.

I use tubedepot.com often. I have been happy with their service and selection.  Not always happy with my choices though.

Roger Modjeski is famous for computerized tube testing. His prices are high, but has a large collection of good tubes. Worth a call, he is very helpful.
http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/

Bill O'Connell has also been known to have that very special tube on hand.
http://morningstaraudio.com/

The component manufacturer may have advice about which NOS tubes may work best. Such advice may come over a phone call, but not given publicly, especially if said NOS tube is difficult or expensive to procure ;)

Don't worry, once Chinese pirates realize the world needs more 6H30-DR they will fill the demand. I wish I was joking - but even odds that it will sound as good as the original Russian. They are getting very good now, I mean legit Chinese tube mfgs, not the pirates who just relabel junk tubes.
Rich

bpape:
This should be a sticky.

Bryan

Carlman:
I'll add Upscale Audio to the list... You can view their tubes online here: http://www.upscaleaudio.com/view_category.asp?cat=38

They're a bit pricey but I've always gotten great advice, service, and tubes from them...

-C

Response Audio:
I would like to add The Tube Store. I have been working with recommending them for several years and my customers have always been happy with the service provided by Jon.

http://www.thetubestore.com

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