The tube store vs tube depot full#

I have a few specific tubes and tube combinations that are certainly my favorites.some of them are vintage tubes and some are current production.Summer is well underway, and if you live in a warm or humid climate, having an air conditioner is a great way to stay cool. I'll run with a given set of tubes in a particular amp for awhile.then I'll just go into my tube stash and put in a new combination just to change things up a little from time to time. While you can adjust for a lot of tone at the amp's controls.there are some things the tone controls can't mimic that a tube does.like the sag characteristics of certain tubes.or the 'hardness' and 'roundness' of the overall sound VS a more diffused some tubes really DO make those things more or less noticeable.įor me.it's like putting on a shirt.whatever mood I'm in. I agree.not all NOS tubes are worth the money.and only some actually impart a noticeable improvement on the tone.but yeah, I certainly can hear enough of a tone difference with some tube swaps.and not so much with others. Main reason.I have a bunch of amps that use tubes, and some of them take a variety of different tube types.so I figured it was a smart thing to stock up on some tubes for the long run. While I'm not obsessed about specific tubes.I do have a rather large stock pile. So, in the long run, you could end up buying more of the cheaper tubes which ends up being a greater cost.īut yeah.the whole cryogenics thing doesn't really make me jump up and take notice. Better quality builds will last longer and take a lot more power cycles than a cheap tube.even if they sound the same. Of course.there's more to it than just sound differences. If I didn't hear any quality difference from a cheaper brand.then I wouldn't buy them again. If I didn't have a good variety of E元4 tubes.I would give one pair a try just for the sake of education. I'm not that convinced that freezing improves a tube.but looking at the Black Label SED tubes.the just seem to be built with better components/quality (forget the freezing part).so on that alone, I could see a reason for the higher prices for folks willing to pay. The link you provided to the Black Label/Tube Depot page doesn't specifically mention anything about 'freezing' or up-charges for that process.at least not in the blurb on the web page. OK.I didn't get that from your original post. They have a wide variety of tubes at all kinds of prices, and some of the brands I'm familiar with are priced pretty much at the going rate, so if that one brand (Black Label SED) is a lot more than others.there's probably a good reason. The Tube Depot marks their prices pretty fairly, IMO. I don't think everyone could be taken in if flimflammery was going on. Prices are relative to market demand.so if people are buying, then that's what they cost. If they are a scam.I doubt they would be selling at those prices. If everyone raves about them.then they must be reasonably priced. The best way to gauge if their prices are reasonable is by how well they are selling and what other folks say. I can't really say anything about the Black Label SED tubes, other than that they look like they are good build and probably good QC. I've purchased Gold Lion KT66 tubes, and they ain't cheap.but I have to say they are better than anything else current, and if you want to buy NOS KT66.step away from the wall, 'cuz your head will slam against it when you see some of the prices on those!!! Look.some shit being sold at crazy prices IS just a lot of hype, but it doesn't mean anything that is priced higher is a scam. What brand of tubes are you buying then, that you consider good quality and sound and at decent prices? I also have vintage E元4 tubes.my favorite ones are some Philips 6CA7 tubes.absolutley the creamiest sounding E元4 tubes I ever used. You can hit them with very high voltages and they won't crap out. I also have some of the original Svetlana SED tubes.they are also quite good. If you want a moderately priced E元4 that sounds real good.the JJ E元4L tubes are quite good. Those Black Label SED E元4 tubes look pretty nice.a bit pricey, but there's even more expensive ones out there.

The tube store vs tube depot full#

I have a couple of cases full of all kinds of tubes, almost all are individually boxed and are neatly packed by type inside a few boxes.they all just sit on a couple of shelves.at normal room temp, typical room climate.Ībout the only thing that can go 'bad' with a tube over time is the loss of its vacuum, but well built tubes can hold up for 50 years, and because of the vacuum, the components inside don't really deteriorate. I was only kidding about keeping them in the fridge!Ĭold will do nothing to extend tube life.