soulsheiksan - yikes! Thanks for posting that. Even if there was not an official export ban, there could be an import ban (to certain nations) and of course just the lack of interest in doing business by many. I just looked and saw they have posted this on their site within the tube pages.
There was also the revocation of some trade deals (not surprising) and without those, it looks like tubes fall under a 35% import tariff to the United States if the nation is not part of a favored trade status deal. So in a future where things were 'better' tubes would have a 35% tariff on them they did not in past years.
There was also the revocation of some trade deals (not surprising) and without those, it looks like tubes fall under a 35% import tariff to the United States if the nation is not part of a favored trade status deal. So in a future where things were 'better' tubes would have a 35% tariff on them they did not in past years.
All my tubes are Russian, bough from Ukraine sellers on e-Bay. I was surprised finding how well their post office worked. My last parcel came just before the recent events.
Same, I ordered some rectifiers from Ukraine a year ago, very fast, maybe a week to get them?
It was taking around 2 weeks, which I consider excellent, especially after Brexit, I had to wait longer for parcels from the EU. It has settled now though.
Even the giant pro-audio / musician seller Sweetwater is out of stock on many tubes, they only sell new production tubes for guitar amps. However, it looks like China can still get Russian current production tubes, so buying Russian new production via China is the only route right now.
Which I can only imagine would cause higher prices, and little or no recourse for bad tubes, not to mention questionable quality, testing, etc. as they pass thru multiple parties. Customs might also crack down harder on it.
Has all the old vacuum tube manufacturing tooling truly left the US? I could swear I’ve seen videos on YouTube where private individuals are showing off the tooling they have in storage. I also remember the short-lived Tectube that was recently made in the UK. I wonder where their tooling ended up.
Would not be surprised if there was tooling around - but guessing there is a lot of 'art' to actually making these (as in all the tricks, problem solving, etc.).
This one seems to have died: https://dynacotubeaudio.forumotion.com/t2630-new-made-in-usa-vacuum-tubes-rch-labs
This one is very real (and very expensive): https://www.westernelectric.com/300b
If someone was able to make a US-made KT88/6550 (what I will be hungry for), I would be shocked if they were under $400-500 each. The fixed costs would be so high. However, what is interesting on the Western Electric is they have a 5 year warranty, like if it fails they will replace it. They claim the life of theirs is 40,000 hours. I'd be happy to pay $2,000 for a matched quad of US-made KT88s if they actually had a similar warranty and the company was going to be around. But the life on these tubes does not seem to be as long.
This one seems to have died: https://dynacotubeaudio.forumotion.com/t2630-new-made-in-usa-vacuum-tubes-rch-labs
This one is very real (and very expensive): https://www.westernelectric.com/300b
If someone was able to make a US-made KT88/6550 (what I will be hungry for), I would be shocked if they were under $400-500 each. The fixed costs would be so high. However, what is interesting on the Western Electric is they have a 5 year warranty, like if it fails they will replace it. They claim the life of theirs is 40,000 hours. I'd be happy to pay $2,000 for a matched quad of US-made KT88s if they actually had a similar warranty and the company was going to be around. But the life on these tubes does not seem to be as long.
For 2000 dollars, you can get 10 matched quads of Shuguang which undoubtedly will last longer than 5 years. The ones I bought have a 2 year warranty (not that I believe it).
Not sure we are living in a world of cheap tubes going forward, at least not for some time. Will we be reminiscing of the good ol days of a matched quad of KT88s for a mere $200? Time will tell.
I have finally discovered the silver lining of living somewhere for the past ten years that is so poorly wired for electricity that I haven’t been able to use my tube power amplifier without tripping the power. My Gold Lion KT88s only had maybe 100 hours on them before the big move here. I recently acquired another quad of new Gold Lion tubes for an amplifier that was due to be used for a hifi cafe that has been on hold since before Covid (I was the consultant). I also have two unused matched pairs of new-production Mullard EL34 tubes. It’s crazy to think that all these Soviet tubes, once a safe bet, are now going to become more costly due to scarcity. And NOS pricing was already crazy before this.
Most of this will depend on whether Chinese and Slovakian production can meet demand. I know that the big tube factory in China went down a couple years ago, but it may be back up. Perhaps someone knows more details than me?
As for quality of far eastern tubes, I'm willing to work with what's available as long as the prices aren't insane.
As for quality of far eastern tubes, I'm willing to work with what's available as long as the prices aren't insane.
I do worry about the Chinese and Slovakian factory capacity. Obviously means higher prices, scaling up production could be hard or very hard, and they would not want to do it then relations improve giving them excess capacity.
You can also bet every brand that makes tube gear is working to secure a supply. Especially a brand like McIntosh, they could easily afford to pay $100-200 per KT88 and just pass along the cost if it comes to that.
You can also bet every brand that makes tube gear is working to secure a supply. Especially a brand like McIntosh, they could easily afford to pay $100-200 per KT88 and just pass along the cost if it comes to that.
Just got back from the local, annual ham-radio flea market. There were some tubes there and hardly anything audio, except for a pair of Sylvania 6L6s, tested, but the two markedly different in age, which were unpriced - I assumed he wanted at least $50-$75 for. Some new Tektronix tubes for $5 each, a whole box full available, didnt recognize the number, maybe about the size of a 6AQ5.
A couple-few monaural tube amps in the $200 range, maybe a good investment even at that just for the tubes. I wish I could recognize the types like you guys can, there may have been some bargains within the lesser known stuff, considering what's going on with the well known types at the moment. One guy had a couple boxes full of boxed individuals, when I looked at the myriad of random types my eyes just glazed over.
Now, after reading the last few entries here, I wish I had asked what to look for.
A couple-few monaural tube amps in the $200 range, maybe a good investment even at that just for the tubes. I wish I could recognize the types like you guys can, there may have been some bargains within the lesser known stuff, considering what's going on with the well known types at the moment. One guy had a couple boxes full of boxed individuals, when I looked at the myriad of random types my eyes just glazed over.
Now, after reading the last few entries here, I wish I had asked what to look for.
There is a joke in the car world about sellers claiming ‘I know what I got!’ to scare off low-ballers and often used on things that are actually not very special. I have a feeling you will see much more of this with tubes now.
In 2018 I got to about six hamfests prior to Covid and only two local ones this year as they started up again. My eyes glazed over too, but getting better at them. You really need to have a tube list with you. Then of course if you see a box with used but tested 45's or 2A3's just grab them if the price is right, which it usually will be compared to online sellers, and everyone expects you to haggle. You always see mono amps, the trick is to find two the same! I've made friends with a local guy that rents three steel buildings to store all his of tubes, his father collected them and he continued it for a lifetime now in retirement. When it warms up my wife and I are invited to explore the sheds.
I remember a very sad article, on a paper magazine (remember those?) about what claimed to be the only US based tube factory still running continuously sice the 50´s, not a restart.
Still working but old worn machinery, VERY 50´s vintage, OLD Engineers, white short sleeved shirt guys, pen holders, you almost expected them to use slide rules.
Their only customer was US Govt and their star product was a tiny grain of wheat size UHF detector diode used in Radar/ECM detectors (the First Gulf War was raging then, so it must have been around '90-'91) and also in a then popular at Universities Microwave thingie, probably HP or Tek.
And they said: "if these orders dry up, we we´ll all have to retire" .... most were way beyond retirement age and kept working only because they were irreplaceable.
So now, 30 years later, I guess all that knowledge and experience is irretrievably lost.
Sad.
Still working but old worn machinery, VERY 50´s vintage, OLD Engineers, white short sleeved shirt guys, pen holders, you almost expected them to use slide rules.
Their only customer was US Govt and their star product was a tiny grain of wheat size UHF detector diode used in Radar/ECM detectors (the First Gulf War was raging then, so it must have been around '90-'91) and also in a then popular at Universities Microwave thingie, probably HP or Tek.
And they said: "if these orders dry up, we we´ll all have to retire" .... most were way beyond retirement age and kept working only because they were irreplaceable.
So now, 30 years later, I guess all that knowledge and experience is irretrievably lost.
Sad.
12 days ago I checked prices at one german webshop for 5881 russian Tung-Sol. They were just below 25 Eur/pc. Now price is almost 33 Eur/pc. Apparently, no moral dilemmas about squeezing every euro from existing russian stock.