tube suggestions/ brand new to tubes

I rolled a lot with my Aric amp and Aric pre amp. I used Vintage Tube Supply for nos tubes. Andy is very helpful and his selection is excellent. Be prepared to wait for your order for several months, but worth the wait. If you are buying new tubes, not sure it really matters where you buy them from. I’m currently using JJ 12at7 and find them very nice. 
As far as which tubes to use, that’s trial and error, and the fun part! Just read reviews, listen to the tubes and purchase a different pair based on the reviews and what you hear in your system. You will find what sounds best to you over time. It’s a slow but fun process. There’s no what’s best. There’s only what you like best. 

@whart , I feel your pain regarding the 6H30, my preamp takes 8. Any opinion on the EH Vs the Sovtek is appreciated. I’ve read the Upscale Audio comments, but that’s all I know. My pre came used with fairly fresh Sovtek’s that have Upscale labeled boxes. BTW your rig is light years beyond anything I hope to have. It must sound amazing. Regards, Mike B.

 You have been given quite a variety of suggestions from NOS to JJ to Apos , that’s pretty extreme. It comes down to what you like in your system with your speakers in your room. I have a modest amp that takes a single input tube and a similar rectifier tube. I tried about a dozen input tubes and about a half dozen rectifier tubes all nos. I preferred Telefunken for the input and a nos Tung Sol rectifier. I would give your pre more time to settle in before you roll tubes. It’s unfortunate that Brent Jesse closed as they offered primo stuff that was Amplitrex tested. I’d definitely contact Aric and verify EXACTLY what tubes you have and EXACTLY what rectifier tubes you can use. As mentioned above regarding Terry London, read the actual review and contact him for suggestions listing your gear. I emailed him twice and he responded both times with excellent suggestions. I’d also like to share that I swapped so many tubes in my little amp I caused loose tube sockets so don’t get too carried away and maybe ask Aric about socket wear. Enjoy your adventure and maybe we’ll meet at a Tube Addicts Anonymous meeting, Mike B.

Rob,

I've used the following 12AU7's in a Rogue 66 line stage preamp over a 

20+ year period: Sylvania, RCA, Tungsol, Telefunken.

I sought detail, air, soundstage, and dynamic range. Each brand, in sequence,

Improved each desired outcome.  As you'd expect, each came at a higher price topping out at $850 for a matched pair of medical grade Telefunken 

tubes from Brent Jessee. Brent estimated the life of the Telefunkens at 10,000 hours. These were, according to Brent, manufactured for electroencephalogram devices where silence and accuracy are paramount. Don't know about their medical performance but Bob Seger's enunciation has dramatically improved. Good luck in your quest.

@buellrider97- Mike, I've been running old DR Reflector 6h30s from the get go in the Veloce. When I ordered the unit, I insisted on them and Vytas delivered. At a certain point, I retubed and finding a matched quad was not easy- I got a set from the'70s, NIB, old stock originally supplied by Victor of BAT from back in the day. Now, those tubes are really impossible to find--they are counterfeited, phony labels, etc. 

I did the retube when I was tracing a noise several years ago, and for trouble shooting purposes, bought a quad of EH- they sounded terrible to me, flat, lifeless, no harmonics, no punch. I'm told the Sovtek version is punchier. 

I've talked to Vytas about this b/c he keeps my Veloce up to date and has some newer mods to allow me to run the production tube-Sovtek- and get more out of it. I will be doing that at some point simply to get out of the unobtanium nature of the old stock DRs. Great tube when they were somewhat available- now, yikes!

*As to circuitry differences, I understand that some other equipment relying on the 6h30 is not so particular about using the old tubes and sounds fine using modern production. The Veloce is a bit of an outlier, so my experience should be attributed to both circuit differences (mentioned by others above) as well as overall voicing (something that I find is particular to each system and its overall balance/sonic needs).