Nobody "needs" a tube tester. As mentioned above, there are ways to get around owning one.
But, I have to say owning one is a pleasure. I happen to have one that has worked flawlessly for many, many years. Yeah, a couple calibrations by Daniel Nelson over the years were costly, but heck, I look at it like a part of my system.
My system wasn't sounding as good as it should have a short while ago. The second tube I tested in my pre amp was right around the minimum reading. Changed it out (actually I changed out the pair) and whallah, system sounded better than ever.
Also good for when buying tubes that are advertised with test results, you can compare. And I have had a couple tubes delivered to me testing bad right out of the box (one from a very reputable dealer, who challenged me at first, then admitted it was bad once he got it back).
But, I have to say owning one is a pleasure. I happen to have one that has worked flawlessly for many, many years. Yeah, a couple calibrations by Daniel Nelson over the years were costly, but heck, I look at it like a part of my system.
My system wasn't sounding as good as it should have a short while ago. The second tube I tested in my pre amp was right around the minimum reading. Changed it out (actually I changed out the pair) and whallah, system sounded better than ever.
Also good for when buying tubes that are advertised with test results, you can compare. And I have had a couple tubes delivered to me testing bad right out of the box (one from a very reputable dealer, who challenged me at first, then admitted it was bad once he got it back).