Don't Give Me That Jive! Busting Tube-Life "Selling It" Myths w/ Upscale Audio's Kevin Deal
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- Hybrid and solid-state amp manufacturers tell you to change tubes every six months. Tube amp manufacturers tell you tubes last forever. Which is true? Neither. Kevin Deal gets annoyed, then explains.
Garrett Hongo's book: The Perfect Sound: A Memoir In Stereo www.amazon.com...
![โฮ่ง! (SUGOI) - LYKN [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nFp4zjAARFs/mqdefault.jpg)
As someone who has bought tubes from you several times you're 100% correct to Kevin you don't tell people to buy more expensive tubes. You're a pretty cool guy and I appreciate the fact that you stock any incredible amount of tubes so you're my one stop shop for tubes.
I've had tubes in my amp for over 8 years, using it daily, and they still make musical magic! Now, they may burn out tomorrow, but to put a time frame on tubes, is truly crap. Thanks Kevin, for some sanity when it comes to this. You rock, my friend!
They have a lifespan just like other wear items. You replace it before it fails. Some may go longer. Some may go much longer.
I have detected a some virtues in Kevin through the years of watching his videos and the most important virtue out of those is HONESTY. His opinion had a very strong weight in my decision for buying my PrimaLuna EVO400 and my Klipsch Fortes IV and I do not repent at all!, excellent gear!
David you are firing on all cylinders!!!! Bad-ass system!!!
Bought a Bell integrated amp for $3 at a thrift store years ago with original tubes. After I figured out the ez81 rectifier was bad, replaced it, and enjoyed it many years.
I have a Mac 1500 receiver 50+ yrs old with original tubes. Plays beautifully.
I,m no expert on audio tubes or tubes in general but I do remember growing up in the 70’s our television used tubes & in the 10 years we had it which was in the thousand of hours of use I guess, never had one go. I have both BHK amps & it’s reassuring to know those tubes will last longer than I thought thanks Kevin
Thank you so much for your honesty!
I was in my car and that’s all I could spit out on my voice text. Just want to say thank you so much for explaining the nuts and bolts of tubes and their usage, especially when they get older. I have a bunch of old tube amps, or at least have had and have to be ruled RCA, Tungsol , and GE tubes that were made in the 60s and 50s through all of them. What a wonderful experience to just enjoy the tonal variation. Never throwing any of them away, found used for 12ax7 that was microphonic as rectifier tube. What a blessing!
Kevin I’ve purchased tubes from you since getting into the hobby some years ago. I’ve watched your videos and have never felt you were selling anything for the sake of selling it. You’ve been consistent in that honest messaging and that’s what I’ve experienced when I made decisions to purchase tubes simply for tube rolling…& I have yielded to your advice and retained those tubes for later use. You run a reputable business and impart pragmatic-no-nonsense information to those willing to yield to it. Refreshing!
Very accurate explanation. Most people don’t understand that electronic equipment life is measured in hours and that if the equipment is designed following the manufacturer’s recommendation then it will last a lifetime and you don’t need to change tubes. The lifetime expectancy of a tube amplifier is not necessarily the tube life expectancy, it is the lifetime expectancy of the component with the least lifetime expectancy in hours of working. So if you play music for 1 hour a day it will last a lifetime
Love this video! Back in the 70's, the Ampeg corporation recommended tube replacement of their SVT model bass amplifiers every 1000 hours. Like a fool, I would run to the local electronics shop (yes, we had those back then) and buy a set of six 6550 tubes for my amp. Back then, the shop carried GE tubes which worked well. The cost was 10 bucks each. That may seem like a bargain these day, but for a kid in middle school working a few hours per day in a hardware store, that was a fortune. Anyway, I'd install these tubes and even back there as a kid, I knew how to bias an amp having learned from the repair tech in my local music store. After all that, the amp sounded horrendous! The tech at the music store told me that I'd have to burn them in. He showed me a trick installing a huge power resistor at the speaker output and feeding 100Hz for a continuous run of 48 hours. What a difference that made! The amp became better sounding as I used it. The tech checked my old tubes out and told me that I still had 75% tube life with the old tubes. I saved the old Maganavox tubes and as of recent, I bought an Amp SVT amp from a guy who found it to be a bit heavy to lug around anymore (The older you get the heavier they get). I found those old Magnavox tubes in a case from that time. I installed the tubes in the amp that I purchased and the sound was night and day from the Electro Harmonics tubes that were apparently 6 matched power tube. The amp came to life with the 75% tubes from the 70's. Oh, biasing an SVT is much easier today than it was back then. In the old days, I had to use an analog Simpson meter. Now, there are three LED's and the LED's will tell you when the amp is biased. Burning in a tube is key to obtaining the true tone from any tube amp.
One of the issues with valve bass amps, is that players put them on top of their speaker cabinets and shake the poor valves, (Yes - I'm in the UK), to bits. The mica end caps for the valve body crumble and the valves become microphonic. Especially true of EL34s, (as used for years in Marshalls). Fender used to supply stands with their bass amps so they didn't have to be sat on top of the bass cabs. Isolators can help too. Ampeg might have been covering for this effect, but 1000 hours is a joke, unless they were using really cheap nasty valves. I'm a semi retired electronics tech, and I always used to shudder wen I got an Ampeg bass amp in for repair - great sounding amps, no issues with their sound at all, but on the later ones, you had to unsolder loads of wires just to get at the printed circuit to replace things like failed caps or the occasional burned resistor. Heavy brutes too, but mechanically very strong.
Some valves settle in faster than others - I remember reading that Electro Harmonix had burn in rigs for their matched pairs, though I think that was more about weeding out early failures from batches, rather than supplying ready burned in ones.
@@profpep Great info! Thank you. Yes, I did have a Musician 130 bass amp before I obtained the SVT and whenever I placed the amp on top of the cabinet, I would get a popping sound from the amp. The technician told me that the amp had a bad cap. As soon as he replaced the bad cap, the problem was solved.5 years ago, I played a rock festival in Nottingham, England where the backline included an SVT and once in a while whenever I hit a really low not on the 5 string bass, the amp would pop. I switched over to the solid state amp on the other side of the stage, and although the sound was not as rich as the tube amp, I got through the performance with zero issues.
I put new tubes in my preamp about 40 years ago. After 3 years I decided to change them. I put new tubes in and heard no difference so I put the old tubes back. I am still using those tubes today and they sound great.
A customer bought one of our SET power amps in 1997. 20 years (!!) later, in 2017, he brought it back to be checked. The original PL519 power tubes, made by Ei in Yugoslavia in 1970/80s and labelled Westinghouse USA, tested at 94% of new figures (mutual conductance and anode current) and were still matched. Some power tubes will last forever LOL
I agree Igor. I never saw original Ei KT90's wear out. Never figured out how.
@@upscaleaudio I miss Ei tubes. KT90s were great tubes!
You are correct Kevin. I purchased new tubes thinking it would bring more life to my preamp and actually the tubes were harsh in the beginning. I switched back to my old tubes and I was amazed how good they sounded.
I’ve been a licensed Amateur Radio Operator since 1977 and Ive used tube gear and hybrid (transistors with tube drivers and final output tubes) and a hefty high powered Linear Amplifier with three 3-500z output tubes. Despite any high use, some moments of heavy loading on the tubes I’ve only had one tube go bad in all those years. They are NOT the delicate devices that some dealers and “experts” will want you to believe. They might have delicate glass envelopes but what’s inside is pretty rugged and can withstand abuse that would cause many transistors to fry.
yes tubes can glow red but transistors just go up in smoke if abused
@@pauldavies6037 of course everyone knows it’s the smoke that makes transistors work cuz once you let the smoke out it’s a goner. 😂😂
@@Aswaguespack yes we used to call them 3 legged fuses
@@pauldavies6037 there could be a case to be made to suggest that fuses not the transistor were the first semiconductor
@@Aswaguespack no wire is not a semiconductor
Kevin, spot on tube life and usage. When tubes are carefully selected at the beginning to meet specs they will work just fine for a long time if they are not abused. I would say that signal tubes can last from 10K to 25-30K hours. Yes, up 30K hours without degradation of performance for best quality stuff. This also has to do with the fact that signal tubes are not pushed to the limit as power tubes. Power tubes between 5K and 12K, in my experience. With some reduction on performance they last even longer. When I get told that I am too optimistic, I always tell people to carefully to read about the original documentation of Western Electric 300B. They claim a 300B used within specs can last up to 40K hours within certain conditions of use. It's not a myth. The reason why WE can make such a claim is because they have decades of experience and real statistical data on their own stuff. Current manufacturers do not make such claims because they cannot back it up (maybe they could have done if they started at some point doing it). At best they (or their retailers) offer some kind of one year guarantee or similar. However, high quality and proper selection surely help to get better performing and longer lasting tubes.
The one thing I have learned is to listen to you, Kevin. Your no BS way of explaining things is greatly appreciated. Just received my electronic version of Stereophile magazine and the review of the PrimaLuna EVO 400 integrated was awesome 😎. As a proud owner of an EVO 400 integrated, I am glad I listen to you and my ears would like to extend a thank you for transforming my system into something special. 👏🏾
I'm a guitar player and use tube amps. Twenty years ago I splurged on some good NOS tubes, including RCA blackplate 6L6, for my favorite amp. They are still going strong.
This was a fantastic and intelligent video. I think it is even more effective at tamping down on the panic over tube shortages then your earlier one was, but both of them together are dynamite. It would be great to see some US manufacturer get on top of tube production
Elon Musk is on the case
@@fostexfan160 LOL. Elon Musk IS a case.
Kevin, What an excellent explanation . I'm old enough to remember when "Tube Testers" were placed in stores, for people to self test and buy new tubes. 😁
When the tv would act up, dad would pull tubes, head over to Lafayette Audio and hit the tube tester to make sure. If one was bad, buy another.
@@Reyfox1 Anthony boy do you bri g back fond memories, not the shit we have these days. Stay well my friend, TMP from N.J.
@@thomasperina2990 the wonderful days when products were not disposable.... retired NYC person living in Poland. Stay also...
Absolutely true on running them at lower plate voltage rather than maxing them out! That is on the designer!
My first tube amp was a homemade PP 6L6 amp made by a guy in Beijing. This is before I knew that one must use vintage US or European tubes, lol, so I just used the cheap Chinese 6L6 tubes that were sold in the same market that I bought the amp in. Anyway, I never turned the amp off! Chinese apartments are concrete anyway and the floors are ceramic and I left the amp on the floor. I swear the amp stayed on 24/7 for at least 6 months at a time. It either was off when the apartment power somehow shutoff or I went back to the US for the summer. I used it for years. I only remember once two of the tubes started making sounds and I figured I needed to buy a new set. So I did. 4 6L6's for about $10. I am sure the tubes didn't sound the greatest but I had nothing else to compare them to at the time. Even those cheap Chinese tubes lasted a long time.
I still have that amp but rarely use it. I bought it in 1999.
Kevin must have been reading my mind because this video came out the same day I was wondering if it were time to replace my tubes. My PrimaLuna Evo 300 is almost three years old and I was listening to an Eagles playlist on Tidal via my Lumin D2 and thinking it didn't sound as rich as normal. Now I feel better; maybe it was just me moving around or just an inconsistent playlist. Thanks Kevin for not trying to oversell us!
Well said sir! Preamp tubes give very long life! Rectifier tubes however are prone to failure “if you drive them hard”!!!
I have found the marriage of TUBE PREAMP & SOLID STATE AMPS is the magic! You can avoid all the power amp tube failures with this method!
Being a guitar player & using tube amps exclusively, I have to keep spare power tubes on hand! Power tubes typically “red plate” when you drive them hard! In general they don’t get noisy, but become “microphonic” before failing!
I don't care what they say about you - besides, who gives a shit what is scrawled on bus station bathroom walls - I think you're one of the best, if not the best, audio guys on the interwebs.
This video just answered every tube question I’ve ever had. I own all BAT high end pieces of audio equipment and I was always questioning and obsessing over all the tubes. Thanks to this video, my mind is at ease. Thank you Kevin. I really love you guys for all my great equipment over the years.
You described exactly why I bought Primaluna, when I saw KT88's rated at 42 watts I knew how conservative the designs are. My son is waiting patiently until I kick the bucket and he can inherit this stuff.
Ha! It gives you a reason to live!!
You should enjoy the amp with him because it won't be the same without dad. I sure miss my old dad the one before he had the stroke. 73
Great vid! I had an Ayon tube amp with plenty of power that sounded flat through my Vandersteen 2CE’s. I called Upsacle and spoke with one of the salesmen. After considering my complaint, he said, “I don’t think tubes are what you’re looking for. You need to find a pair of speakers that get along with your amp.” and that’s where he left it: up to me, no sales pitch. Lots of respect for those guys.
I have a lot of experiance with Vandersteen. You can get good results with tube or solid state. If you haven't done anything yet, I may be able to give you some ideas.
@@AT-wl9yq The Vandy 2 is a great speaker, for sure. No wonder it’s been in continuous production for so long. But I sold the Ayon - I think it wanted speakers with at least 92 db efficiency. And the Vandy’s went to a grateful home as well. Now running Magnepan MMG’s with classic McIntosh gear and it’s a very happy marriage.
Kevin thanks for calling out BULL SHIT !!! PRIMA LUNA electron times are not designed to run maxed out. The PRIMA LUNA designers run these tubes at half the designed load so there is enough headroom when a heavy bass passage comes in play or a higher volume demand is required. If you run run anything to almost its limits its not going to last, period. Terrific video sir, TMP from N.J.
Uncle Kev, I know you are on my side and that’s why I love doing business with Upscale!😁
Kevin’s on the warpath! Love it. Team Kevin!!!
I lost a tube in my Prima Luna EVO400. Using the tube health LED’s I was able to identify the faulty tube . Replace one tube ( KT88) & everything was spot on again. The EVO 400 is a brilliant piece of Audio gear.
Tubes, difference. I am now a happy owner of a cheap ChiFi tube amp. I rolled the rectifier from a 5U4G to a 5AR4. WHY? Because I was told the 5UG4 was garbage. The 5AR4 added distorted sound and went back to the stock tube.
Replaced the stock 6H8C with a vintage set of GE 6SN7's. Now that was an affordable upgrade.
Then I upgraded the Winged C 6P1 tubes with 6P1P-EB tubes. What a waste of money.
I know it's a cheap amp. I've hot-rodded it with the help of the online community. But it sounds wicked good. I'm never heard such a smooth amp. Now the question of how do I make the switch to something better without killing my bank account . Something in the 2-3k range, SET a must.
Lord have mercy on any District Attorney if Kevin ever decides to be a defence lawyer. Vice Versa applies.
Thanks Kevin for your videos. I've had the pleasure of speaking to you on the phone a few times and you've been very helpful.
You are the most realistic and knowledgeable person I have ever heard to explain all this tube panic and B.S, thank you for your sincere, honest and most importantly experience to all this crap about tubes. I will now crank up the volume and enjoy my system the way I like it!
Love this video. I was a re-seller of Used and Nos tubes for a number of years and I want to just share one story (although, just like you I have hundreds I could share). I won't even go into the details of the types of tubes or type of amp. I sold mostly to audiophiles and did really well. However, I am a musician and have a lot of musician friends. Well, when they find out I have nos and used vintage stock they all start hitting me up. One guy wanted to re-tube his big powerful vintage bass guitar amp, it took 8 tubes and he wanted the "best". SO I gathered 8 used tubes that he considers "the best", I did not have enough NOS versions and he would have shit his pants when he found out the price of nos tubes of that sort. He was a friend so I really took a lot of time to find a grouping that were as closley matched as possible and that were in a range that he would get a great number of years out of them. He took the amp, (and this amp runs at a very high voltage...very high) to his repair guy, (a guy I would never let touch any of my equipment and the guy fires 'em up and says two of them are glowing too red AND ARE BAD!. SO he brings them back and wants his money back and is pissed. I re-tested those tubes and they were fine. Two of them were running at a different color (NOT RED), maybe I would say slightly orange and less blue. Anyway, I found him some new Winged "c"
s and gave him back the difference in cash. The repair guy puts crappy new yugo tubes in every amp he repairs and I understand the reason. However, guys like the repair guy I use are excited to use NOS or used tubes from yesteryear. Because they know that you may be able to get the amp sounding so much better. So I just share because it was bullshit what his repair guy told him, he just wanted to be able to put his new tubes in so he could make more money. But don't get me started.
I preface that the Yugo tubes I trashed there are really not terrible, but I would never use them. J.J's as I recall.
Oh yeah, now you did get me started. There is another guy here on YOuTube a so called expert who actually states that different vacuum tubes do not make any difference in sound quality. that it is all just a big lie.
Kevin I would sue PS audio for telling lies about you LOL I agree with most of what you say me been in the business for over 45 years dont leave your amps switched till you actually want to use it then it "warn up" for 30 minutes
Thanks Kevin for the insight. When ever I’m in need of a brand you carry I call Uncle Al or of course Kat is it’s analogue. Great stuff and great people.
Oh my God, Kevin! You’re a breath of fresh air! Can we just stop all the craziness and hyperbole already? I saw the video you referenced and found myself little confused, actually. Luckily I forgot about it, although I have had this nagging sense of dread about having to replace the tubes in my CJ integrated. I’ve even found myself turning it off if the phone rings or I need to go outside for a few minutes cuz I don’t want to “wear out” my tubes. Now I’m just gonna leave it on and not worry about it. And when it really is time to replace the tubes, I’m calling Upscale Audio. Thanks, Kevin!
Hey Dan - Turning on and off isn't a good idea. My rule of thumb is if I'm coming back in four hours to listen leave it on.
I run tubes from the 30s like a 76 Triode or 42 output valves they are 88 years old no problems.
Nice job Kevin, again “no bullshit”. Me likes that
Hi. Excellent video. I'm a guitar player using various tube amps, and your advice applies as well, and is on the money. Thanks for making the video. Regards.
VERY VERY VERY INFORMATIVE!!!!😉 Your advice is priceless, you have opened the door to More questions being ask about tubes like
Care of them and cool down periods .this makes you want to purchase from a supplier that knows and gives advice about their products. Thank You. Can I please have a set of tubes 😃
Back when computers had thousands of tubes, they kept detailed statistics on tube life. To cut to the chase, they found some infant mortality, but after a few hundred hours the longer the tube lasted, the higher the chance it would last some more. So they switched from a plan of changing all the tubes after 5,000 hours to changing on failure. That was practical as they had ways of lowering the B+ voltages during maintenance times to spot tubes that were going weak or gassy.
Sorry to say that my PrimaLuna EVO 300 preamp had one of its 12AU7s go bad at about 100 - 150 hours. Unfortunately this occurred after the 6 months of guaranteed tube protection. Given that these are unbranded tubes with the PrimaLuna logos I decided to replace all 6 with Tung Sol 12AU7W tubes, as who knows when the next one will go. These preamps are made in China and I'm sure they sourced Chinese tubes which may not have the best reliability. I also replaced the rectifiers with a pair of NOS Philips 5R4GYS I was fortunate enough to come across; those are doing great.
Kevin is the real Deal. Wish I could give you two thumbs up.
This is exactly why I just can't do audiophile. I want to listen to my music, not be listening to my 'tubes'.
Thanks you so much Kevin, this priceless. Love your videos from the U.K.
“Most of my customers are older”. Awesome 👏.
Frustratingly, I refrained from tube hoarding recently and when it was time to buy tubes in normal fashion, upscale had locked the site again. Chill, people…you’re ruining it for the community.
I'm loving the kingdoms in the corner, Mr. Deal!
Great video Kevin - have had KT120 x 4 running in A class for 10 years and they still sound great - Weston Acoustic KT120 - 45 watts per channel
I listen about 6 to 8 hrs a week with my 845 set mono amplifiers and have gotten over 4 years of play, still going.😁
It’s tragic how much bad equipment and poor advice there is around audio. Very refreshing to hear someone who loves music over sound and knows his business.
Very educational. Thanks.
NOS Tubes! do you still have some? i can't find it on your webstore.
OMG !!! thank you, thank you, thank you, you have just made Tube knowledge so easy to understand and it makes perfect sense. And yes I have done all the wrong things with my tubes. Now I know how to use and understand Tubes. Why is this knowledge not commonly understood within the industry, it only helps consumers have a good experience with their tubes and make the right decisions. Thanks
Love the story about the power tubes that last a lifetime and older customer. The customers will croak before the tubes quit!
What really determines the life of a tube is the ability of the cathode to emit sufficient electrons when heated. Cathodes are coated with materials rich in electrons. The harder you drive a tube the more material is given up over time. This is why after some time the conductance of the tube falls off and it needs to be replaced. I agree that tubes actually last for a very long time and it is only the hype generated by those that want to sell tubes that fosters a belief in changing the tubes out. The only real issue I have with tubes is that they can become micro-phonic and generate noise.
Like I've said before I LOVE THIS GUY!!!! Customer and Friend for life
Love it, Kevin's position is well stated and makes sense. Kind of reminds me of Harvey Rosenberg from New York Audio Labs / Moscode. Passion, love of music and hobby. Great stuff.
I love tubes, own a Dialogue Premium Preamp and Dialogue Premium HP power amp. Unfortunately, the current state of tubes in the world is not good. Prices are shooting up like crazy. A few years ago I could get a quad of Gold Lion KT88s for no more than $250. Now you’ll pay at least $400 for that same quad. All other tubes are up in price too. Hopefully that trend doesn’t continue or I’ll eventually have to get out of the tube game.
A correction - the price of ANY commodity is only tangentially - at best - related to rarity. The vastly more important constituent of the value of a commodity is the DEMAND for it. There are many things in this world of which only one exists - but no one wants them and therefore they are valueless. Rarity only matters when the group of potential purchasers vastly exceeds the quantity available.
Kind of. It starts with rarity. Trust me. I'm going to do a video to talk about that. Stay tuned.
When I had tube equipment, only when they failed or created noise, I left them alone.
Great video and man, where do I find the tube artwork like Kevin has...that green tube on the wall is beautiful.
People go crazy and get all obsessed about their tubes. I’m just a guitar player and am talking about tube guitar amps, not hi fi amps. But I think the principle is the same. But I have a 1988 Peavey VTM 120 guitar amp and it STILL has the original power tubes in it! 35 years! I do check my bias about every 6 months and adjust it if it needs it. Now, I did have to change out V1 because the original became microphonic. But it lasted almost 15 years. Maybe my amp is an anomaly, but changing tubes every year as some people do is ridiculous and a waste of money.
I'm poor so I built my own. 6L6 GC's, EL34, 6V6, Hammond Transformers. I don't care about the distortion factors. I like how they sound and I have had a lot of fun with tubes over the years. Get a tube manual, schematics and parts. Build your own!!!
Is there a difference in tube life based on volume of music?
1. tube powered but not playing music
2. playing music at soft volume
3. playing music cranked up
If the bear wants to sit in the "sweet spot." I suggest you let him!
Thanks for the great and honest video. I’m watching now from Thailand and enjoying all the gear I bought from you guys before I moved here. Hopefully you ship stuff here for when I’m ready to add something new or need some tubes.
Thanks, mike
Awesome Info! Awesome!
I love the way you tell it like it is!!!
For quite awhile I hunted down every lead on closed or otherwise non functioning movie theaters as I loved the audio gear and it's history. I decided to critically listen to the amplifiers and some were very good but most required a bit of work as .ost thater equipment was very laxed in the HF area. After some slight component changes most with exception being those that had started going to seed( rust and other damage) were remarkably neutral. One pair of fifty watt tube jobs were very good in this respect but a good inspection revealed all eight output tubes in the pair dated from 1948. This was around 1990. So 42 years of heavy service.
When I saw the title, I thought their was a lifestyle like “van life” called “tube life”.
Kevin! So cool that this popped up in my feed. I used to buy tubes from you years ago when I was at Kendrick.
Kendrik guitar amps. I remember.
I love audio equipment!😍.
Currently searching for my end game turntable, ( I’m not a rich guy! Lol) in the running? Acoustic Research (Maximus), Dr. Fickert, (Volarie) EAT, (C Sharpe) Pure Fidelity, (Encore).
Two of them you do not sell! AR I’m looking at because of the quality of the table. Pure Fidelity I’m looking at because he is a no bullshit kind of guy like you’
I have bought all my nice 2 channel stuff from you,
I’m spending my hard earned money for one reason, my personal joy and love of music!
There are MANY! Reasons I buy from Kevin and Upscale!
Truth is, Kevin knows his shit, and sells to share knowledge and his own personal love of equipment and music.
Kevin, you have nothing to prove to those that do business with you!
Love your heart man!
John at Pure Fidelity is a lot like you.
Be taking to your folks soon about a table!
Acoustic Signature tables…so good!!!
I think so too.
They certainly have their act together. Do you own one of their tables?
I do WOW XL with TA1000 tonearm and Clearaudio Maestro cart. I also have a VPI with SME309 and a Linn Sondek LP12 but the AS is exacting in its build precision and it comes thru in its sound. Highly recommended.
I have my Dynaco pas pre amp, with 12ax7 tubes from the 1960's, an Sca 35 with 7199 that still work, from the 1960's
"Tube Life Bullshit" would be my favorite magazine
This guy wold LOVE Fractal Audio and Cliff Chase!!!!
Thank you beautiful clear and real explanation about rolling tubes and tubes in general ,i t was and is really needed in the "today's " audio world .....
And those tubes you showed costs $200 😂😂 way to throw the argument 🤣🤣🤣
Kevin is on the up and up, I trust his tube knowledge 100%, I have bought tubes from him before, and he has actually talked me out of buying tubes at other times when he felt I was just spending money, and not gaining much with the new tubes I wanted,Kevin and his team at Upscale Audio are top notch!
Tubes are like anything else. Tube age is mainly dictated by design, materials, quality of manufacture, and safe biasing and usage.
In general, tubes can last anywhere from a matter of seconds (i.e. infant mortality) to decades without having to be replaced. If you have tubes in a piece of gear, and that gear is working properly, don’t worry about wasting money changing tubes no matter how old they are.
Some tube designs are extremely rugged.
My $0.02. 👨🏻
There are classic Blackface Fender amps from the 60s that still have the original tubes in them that are working fine. Small signal tubes, preamp tubes, like 12AX7s especially, can last for decades if they're well made, like old RCA, GE, Sylvania, Mullard (and other Philips made tubes), Telefunken, and Raytheons were. They don't work as hard as power tubes do, but there are many old 6L6s, 6V6s, EL34s, EL84s, 6550s, and KT88s that are still working fine too. Newer tubes aren't made to the same quality as the old ones were, so they may fail sooner.
It is fairly well known that Russian tubes invariably fail prematurely in a cathode-follower circuit, and so some equipment might have one or two socket positions where you need to use a premium NOs or good used American or European tube.
"I have a lot of older customers." LOL
I don’t even dig tubes. Yet. But I totally dig your posts Kevin. Keep it going man!
I purchased a Feliks Euforia tube headphone amp from Upscale along with a pair of Utopia headphones. Amazing pairing, but after only a handful of listening sessions one of the preamp tubes started hissing. Fairly annoyed I have to drop another $224 on a matched pair of preamp tubes after dropping $6k. It’s not the money, just the fact they can randomly fail so quickly and the response is 🤷🏻♂️
All things being equal and the gear is working properly, only change tubes when they become microphonic, thats my experience.
Good video and explanation Kevin. I do wonder where new production tubes will come from, with Russia effectively barred from the market.? Watching videos of production at the Mullard Blackburn plant and Australia from the 50’s gives a good idea why production costs would be prohibitive in the West. The machinery is highly specialized, and a lot of labor is involved. Considering the great variety of tube types, it seems like it will be difficult to makeup the shortfall, though China is probably the best bet for increasing production. What are your thoughts Kevin? Btw I own a PL Dialogue HP- great sounding amp and I appreciate the lower plate voltages and auto bias circuitry!
I've just received a half-million dollars worth of Russian tubes.
Great advice 👍
Well thank you for the truth ! you have no doubt clarified the BS !
Thanks Kevin, that was both educational and entertaining.
My dream is to end up in the tube world. The audiophile end goal for me.
I'm in the process of doing that! And it's costing me a lot of cash! I found a guy in my local classfields who builds custom tube amps. He's now building a "better" version of the Unison Research Simply Italy amp for a slightly lower price. I'm still spending 1800€ just for an integrated amp. There are many cheaper Chinese tube amps from Reisong. But Skunkie Designs (on TH-cam) examined them carefully and determined that they use bad components and have design flaws. I don't know what rabbit hole I'm going through and it's costing me thousands of euros 🥵
So the ultimate in audiophile vocabulary stretch:
Are there tubes which universally are known for bass extension, soundstage or tonality?
Only musical instruments (guitar amps and bass amps) ran tube at maximum ratings, almost every tube data sheet I’ve come across have recommended rating; tubes used in TV’s and in radio transmitters are a different kettle of fish.
Some excellent points made there Kevin, great video!
Hello kevin❣️
I bought the Evo 100 dac. It's great!
How should I count the tube using houers?
Should i count where ever it's on?
Or only when it's playing a signal?
Thanks allot ☺️
My bad, Acoustic Signature, Maximus!
Love Garrett! I have an autographed copy of the Klipsch bio from Michael. A sweet guy!
I really could imagine you and Paul getting into an argument over which Dead concert had the best acid.
my amps use Russian 6C33C tubes which have not been manufactured for a long time. Fortunately bought a bunch when they were cheap knowing they would get more pricy.
I bought a PrimaLuna Prologue Five from you several years ago. I used the stock PrimaLuna branded tubes and within a year, one went bad. I bought a quad of Genelax Gold Lion tubes from you and one of those went bad within a year. I use my system approximately two hours per week (if that) and the system is plugged into an Isotec EVO3 power strip. Are tubes nowadays just that bad?
The Gold Lion KT77 is a little fragile. If you have the KT88, well one could fail but just replace it. They are very durable.
They are all KT88. Can the Prologue Five handle mismatched tubes (same type, different measurements - not a matched quad)? Can I call you with my previous tube measurements and get a close match? Necessary? Thank you. Cheers!