The panic selling of tube audio had begun.
I think it is a bit crazy. I run tube gear sometimes 12 hours a day and hardly ever have to replace any tubes. My tube amplifiers have been mostly as reliable as stones and maybe more so than my SS gear since I've had failures with that. And none with any of the 70 or so tube amps pres etc I have owned over the last 35 years. I design loudspeakers so run my amps much and have to have a wide selection of types. Still while sad for those who panic easily it's an opportunity to pick up low priced tube kit and after a week or so I will most likely be making some lower offers on ads till I get a bite. So if thinking of selling your tube gear because you feel no more tubes ever please do so I have my eyes on a few amps maybe it will be yours.
@jayctoy Upscale's site is up. They just dont have their tube inventory listed for purchase but it clearly states they have stock and shipments from Russia have resumed. |
I myself struggle with the best way to help, there are so many organizations dealing with refugees but it's impossible to know which ones are legit. I put up Ukrainian flags on my house, I speak to people and confirm that this is indeed real, I think for now, the best we can do is expressing unity against the war. In two generations we always forget and unlearn the horrors of war, maybe it will be over soon and life can slowly go back to normal in Europe. |
I was browsing the main suppliers to see how things were tonight and noticed how Viva has done about a 4X markup across the board on tubes. I have purchased from them in the past but will shop elsewhere when things return to normal. That seems quite excessive. The Tube Store has done about a 1.5X markup which seems much more reasonable. That is fair for someone that is in need of tubes now to deal with all things considered. The Tube Depot is still showing no stock on most tubes and Upscale hasn't opened their site back up yet. Kev said his tester broke. I just can't tell about him, I really want to believe he is sincere but my gut says he is not lol. |
There are many, many charities set up to help the Ukrainian refugees and those who chose to stay and fight for their country, their homes, and their freedom get the basics of shelter, food, and medicine they need to live. Please, take a minute and donate to the charity of your choice. For less than the price of a tube, you will literally be saving someone’s life. Most likely a mother and/or child displaced or trapped in this nightmare. |
@sandbites - JJ tubes are made in the Slovak Republic.... |
rocray "Suddenly,hate is in vogue." Not that sudden. If it were not already lingering just below the surface, it would not have so manifested suddenly and magnificently. Hate is now not only in vogue but codified. Meanwhile, the US has done exactly what the Russian government has done with the aid of it's vassals countless times since WWII. In fact, in the 19th century the US outright stole the sovereign nation of Hawaii without even bothering to falsify a premise. But hey, it was going to waste populated by a bunch of inferior brown skinned heathens so.... |
Several years ago, I purchased a number of 6H30P-DR NOS Russian military tubes and still have a stash of about 24 of these. I bought them when I had BAT equipment along with a full complement of 6C33-D Russian NOS output tubes as spares. Presently, I have no use for them, but haven't thought of selling them yet. I have S.S. and tube-related equipment (amp and preamp) which I also have spare NOS tubes for, as I felt I'd like to have them since they're no longer made, or their NS replacements may not be of similar sonics or reliability. I have found that in most cases, tube equipment and tubes themselves are pretty reliable. I do believe that tubes wear-out, (especially output and power-supply rectifier-tubes), before they give up the ghost so to speak. Usually, dynamics in my experiences suffer prior to their demise. But other than that, selling off tube equipment just because of tube-shortages might be a bit hasty ! If you have small-signal tubes, you can usually expect to get ~4000 - 6000 hours of play before they "break" or start sounding worn. Some can go notably longer ! Output tubes and rectifier tubes in my opinion are good for ~2000 - 3000 hours before they start to sound worn. Some rectifier tubes seem to never "break" (Mullard GZ-37's for example) and although I've seen some test still OK, when replaced the difference in dynamics is not subtle. Your "individual milage may vary" as this is just my opinion... Happy Listening ! ! ! |
@grislybutter Night after night I watch the news on the war. And night after night I feel guilty. You are right--many of us, for now, live our middle class lives and are for the most part insulated from the atrocities that you and the Ukrainian people endure. So how can we help? |
I was wondering if Russian tubes would get scarce for awhile. I checked a couple websites and sure enough the USA sites are either out of stock or jacked up the prices. Prices from the German tube stores are still normal and in stock. My GoldenTube SE40 has been running lovely with TungSol 7581A but they are getting a bit old so I've decided to just order a spare set now just in case. |
Fun fact: the Russian tube factory that produces Tung-Sol, Electro-Harmonix, EH Gold, Genalex Gold Lion, Mullard, Svetlana & Sovtek is and has been owned by American Electro Harmonix founder Mike Matthews since the 1990’s. The EHX website is an interesting read. |
Coincidently, I was at The Tube Store today to pick up some GL KT 77 tubes that I ordered over this past weekend. (In the last 6 weeks I have had two fizzle out on me... bummer). I was told that they had received a Month's worth of orders over that Saturday and Sunday. They were so overwhelmed, the website crashed and I had to wait 4 days to do a Pick Up of an In Stock item! Poor website support, lack of reliable supply (Parts Connexion was all out of KT 77) or panic buying? Who knows? Whatever ... I can go back to enjoying my system. PS... The Tube Store was great to deal with despite the delay and will use them in the future. |
Yes, seems silly to be talking about tubes when people are being murdered by a mad man who has something against “oysters and gender freedom”. Suspect someone will put a bullet in his head at some point…and the world will be a better place. but back to tubes… I will never buy a Russian tube again, or any other product. |
I think that's why The Tube Store website really went down for "maintenance". Not because of too much traffic on a poor web server, but to give them time to raise their prices. I don't support businesses that price gouge. |
Most of the conjecture here is that an increase of listeners rotating out of tubes and into solid state is because of Issues with Tube Availability from Russia going forward. And that might be the final straw for many tube owners. But the reality is that many of them have heard truly high end Class-D (Hypex/Purifi) and then realized how cool it runs and how much less power it consumes and are sold. Whatever the issues are with solid state that tube aficionados seem to detest, they seem to be missing from these high end Class D offerings. Hell, when Atmo-Sphere announces a shift away from tubes, that would be the fat lady singing IMO. |
If history has taught us anything, anytime the supply side fails and there is unserved demand someone will spring up to serve the unserved market. Once Chinese manufacturers sense that there’s a vacuum in the supply I’m sure they’re start a few tube plants. Sure there will be a shortage for a year or so and the new supplies will be unreliable but eventually the dust will settle and new champions will rise from the chaos. Who knows, there might be some small tube factory waiting to be turned on in the former iron curtain countries. Exciting times! |
@dekay You need to buy new not used. |
@rickdoesaudio - Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe that's "The price of meat has just gone up and your old lady has just gone down...." |
God Bless you @grislybutter , I can only imagine your pain. I’m Volga German and our people were run out of the Volga area in the late 1890’s. Many that didn’t flee died in work camps when WW I started. My wife and I were at the biggest park in our city Sunday. The local Ukrainian church was holding a prayer event with live music. Many people were dressed in traditional clothing. The flowered shirts and blouses were only surpassed in beauty by the people who wore them. At one point the music switched from hymns to traditional folk music in your native language. As we don’t speak the language we just watched. I looked over at my wife and we both stood there holding hands as the tears streamed down our cheeks. We worry about feeding our stereos while baby’s starve and good people are killed. Thank you for sharing the truth and putting this in perspective for us. My nephew’s in the Army and was deployed to Poland. My daughter’s fiancé is a fighter pilot and has been told to stay within 100 miles of the base on his days off. I pray that it ends soon and that the US does much more than we have. I have the luxury of a blanket and a warm meal 24/7, and the obligation of donating to the relief effort, which I have. God Bless you and your people. |
| Post removed |
@grislybutter ...my best friend is currently working in Budapest Definitely worried about him. |
Good on ya @middlemass ! |
My sincere apology to @grislybutter . |
@grislybutter hope you your family & friends are safe and well. Prayers to all. |
thank you @falconquest ! |
@grislybutter I'm sorry you and the people of Ukraine have to go through this. I hope it all ends very soon. Hang in there. |
I have relatives in Ukraine near bombing sites and I am hosting Ukrainians in Budapest right now so I am not taking this lightly. I just don’t like "armchair panic engineers" arguments like yours that is as vague and generic and useless as it can be, I am not concerned about when WWIII will begin, I am very much concerned about when it will end. But don’t worry, you cozy middle-class life will not be more disturbed by it than a few extra bucks at the gas station. Oh, and the tubes! yes! |
Cause and effect plus unintended consequences can cause a LOT of upheaval. What happens if/when the US loses the primacy of the US dollar? Itry not to introduce politics on this forum. But, lets face it, politics is what has caused the very topic we are and have been talking about for 2-3 weeks. Now, the unintended consequence...maybe. saudi-arabia-considers-accepting-yuan-instead-of-dollars Will normality return? I don't know |
My preamp and power amp both use 6SN7GTBs and I've wound up with piles of new versions and NOS that should last a decade or more. My power amp can operate with anything from KT66s to KT170s, only uses 2 power tubes at a time (single ended pentode Dennis Had Inspire "Firebottle") and I also have a stash of various power tubes (some barely used as their initial tone wasn't "all that") to get me by until things calm down or blow up...so no hoarding for me! (my stash was caused by tube rolling compulsion, not the desire to hoard...but still...no worries here, except of WWIII I suppose). |
| Post removed |
