i have been looking for a thread where tube reliability is discussed, what people's experience is with tube life expectancy vs final age of passing.
i have read a faq at vacuum tube.com regarding the state of tube manufacture these days it seems that the golden age of tube manufacture has passed and that we will never see those days again when tubes were pumped for 2 0r 3 hours and when [FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica] ultra-pure cathode materials were used.
"... [/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica] they are not recreating the complex cathode[/FONT] [FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]formulae using super-expensive reagent-grade chemicals, expensive metal alloys and metallurgy and quality control that[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]were prevalent up until the early 1970s in those factories"[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]a few eye opening quotes from this FAQ
[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]"We have estimated that as many as 40% of the "NOS" audio tubes being sold on eBay are outright phonies."
"[/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]Rebranding is as old as the vacuum tube itself. In the 1950s, there were enormous problems with [/FONT] [FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]dishonest dealers taking used or factory-rejected TV and radio tubes, cleaning them up externally, and[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]offering them for sale at cut-rate prices in magazine ads."[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]"The only way to avoid being ripped off is not to participate."
"[/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica] NOS RCA 6L6GC Blackplates, once a $20 tube, now sell for up to $175 each."
i am curious to know what the experienced people in this forum have to say on the matter. i recall a short discussion in another thread where someone had a "secret tube" that was good for audio amplification but was as yet undiscovered and whose price had not inflated astronomically.
[/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
i have read a faq at vacuum tube.com regarding the state of tube manufacture these days it seems that the golden age of tube manufacture has passed and that we will never see those days again when tubes were pumped for 2 0r 3 hours and when [FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica] ultra-pure cathode materials were used.
"... [/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica] they are not recreating the complex cathode[/FONT] [FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]formulae using super-expensive reagent-grade chemicals, expensive metal alloys and metallurgy and quality control that[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]were prevalent up until the early 1970s in those factories"[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]a few eye opening quotes from this FAQ
[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]"We have estimated that as many as 40% of the "NOS" audio tubes being sold on eBay are outright phonies."
"[/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]Rebranding is as old as the vacuum tube itself. In the 1950s, there were enormous problems with [/FONT] [FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]dishonest dealers taking used or factory-rejected TV and radio tubes, cleaning them up externally, and[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]offering them for sale at cut-rate prices in magazine ads."[/FONT]
[FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]"The only way to avoid being ripped off is not to participate."
"[/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica] NOS RCA 6L6GC Blackplates, once a $20 tube, now sell for up to $175 each."
i am curious to know what the experienced people in this forum have to say on the matter. i recall a short discussion in another thread where someone had a "secret tube" that was good for audio amplification but was as yet undiscovered and whose price had not inflated astronomically.
[/FONT][FONT=Impact, Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]