Overpriced Tube Amps


I love tube amps, Ive owned many solid state the great ones, Blah Blah Blah. Ive been watching the prices increase on these old designs now 20 year old units going for 50% of original cost rusty old xformers and all. Dont be stupid when purchsing these things. Id love to name brands but i wont. Another thing is the prices some people charge for tubes 100 each? These things cost $3.00 new. I know they can make or break that 4500.00 tube amps sound but come on.
I have a 30,000 system and have yet to spend more then 15.00 each. I dont get it.
fzappa5272e
tubes can last for many years, but their actual performance is a bit like a bell curve.
Hello, you guys that Ask why you would spend extra on Vintage tubes ,I consider pennywise and pound foolish .I am not saying to go out and buy the rarest
tubes in their class,you can find that a lot of U.S tubes are very good ,and less money than the European tubes .
for output tubes these new TJ mesh plates from China ,are very good for modern tubes .in some respects you get what you pay for . Please remember ,unless the modern tubes are very tightly quality controlled and using the best materials ,
like the Tj tubes they are mostly Junk .The russian tubes there is no quality on main stream $15.00 tubes, average at best .
in the 60s they used better metals, coatings, tighter vacuumes and tubes and grids were checked at every 50 ,in many places , the PQ tubes screened in every phase.before transistors this was their lifes blood.also please remember the triodes matched in some to within 2% compared to most of todays
junk at 7-12% , even matched today only stays that way for
a 100 hours before it drifts.A true Audiophile will spend more. This is why they sound better, and last longer.for you can hear the difference in detail for sure.
also IN Rectifier tubes put in todays model ,than put in a MUllard, Amperex, or WE, when you turn up the volume everything stays in place and lasts for years.
the modern day bunch loose composer,and in a few years they blow up. you may have a valve amp ,untill you are willing to make a few hundred dollars minimum investment ,
which is minimal, in the sonic rewards you get in return
then you will only read about the sonic improvement
they can make, 25 years later ,and I wished I had bought all the now vintage tubes I would be using , if you can afford it,buy em you can't put a price on sound quality!
I've been fooling around with hifi equipment for 40 years, listened to my father's tube equipment growing up and have had a lot of pretty good solid state equipment since. Few years ago I bought a PAS-3 preamp for $75, beefed up the PS, upgraded a few components. The sound was so much better than any solid state equipment I had, I got hooked.

Yes some of the vintage tube equipment prices have skyrocketed, but there are still a lot of excellent deals out there. Same with the tubes themselves. It helps if you look at it as a hobby, know you will spend time researching, trying different tubes etc. That isn't for everyone, but if it is your thing, at least in my experience the payback is there. As for other people that don't want to spend the time, or the money, there is good solid state equipment, and matched with the right speakers I'm sure they will be very happy with the sound.
fzappa5, remember two things-supply and demand and inflation. A tube that cost $15 in 1950 would cost just by way of inflation, $124, Then WE 300B tubes were widely available, but now many have worn out, been broken, and even discarded into the trash. The old WE300Bs are clearly superior to new production 300Bs even those by Westrex.

Stop whinning and live with what you can afford. Many will pay what it takes to buy old tubes and some to buy old equipment.