The SBAF TUBE discussion thread

Our tube rolling thread got erased by hackers and I can't find the other one that used to be here. Mods feel free to join this with an existing tube thread

Post experiences, questions, ideas, etc about tubes

 

I can't figure out Full Music's 2a3 tube lineup. For some reason they don't have a website, which I can't imagine given how much energy and resources they put into their products. But also, they have new models and old models still being sold, and they're all on Chinese websites that aren't that clear. I just want to know what their 2a3 lineup is from worst to best (in their opionion)

Here's one website, GDparts, which has an Alliexpress store too, that shows a number of Full Music 2a3 tubes, They have the 2a3/N and 2a3/Q, both of which I have and while the 2a3/N mesh is by far the prettiest 2a3 tube on the market, the 2a3/Q is technically much better while maintaining Full Music's more lush sound signature.

Then there is HifipartsStore, which has the 2a3/C, 2a3/Q, 2a3/CNE and 2a3/SE. And notice the 2a3/SE is globe shaped.

On GDparts, the description of the 2a3/Q that I have and like very much in my Stratus V3, says it is a replacement, or a better sounding tube than the 2a3/cne

but Hifiparts sells a matched pair of the 2a3/cne for $730 while GDparts sells the 2a3/Q for $550, so I am a bit confused unless Full Music did a once in a lifetime better and cheaper move. Seems unlikely.

Also, there is a coke bottle 2a3/SE and a globe shaped 2a3/SE.



Then this is what I bought (I can't remember where I think Alliexpress) and it came in the cheap "please recycle" box, not the nicer box. I don't care about packaging, but companies generally put their better products in better packaging. My 2a3/Q tubes came in the above box, but my coke bottle 2a3/SE tubes came in the blue cardboard "recycle me" boxes.



On the box for my 2a3/Q, there are boxes to check for which tube is inside, and there is a box for the 2a3/Q and above that, a box for the 2a3/SE, which is why I looked into it because it looks like the 2a3/SE is their best 2a3 tube since it’s on top.



So there's

2a3/C which is pretty clearly their base model and cheapest
2a3/N mesh plate which is a step above the C, but I think below the rest

Then these, which really confuse me

2a3/cne at $780 and Full Music says the Q is better sounding than the cne
2a3/SE globe shape at $680 in a premium box
2a3/SE coke bottle I forget the $ and can't find it atm
2a3/Q at $550 in a premium box



It's all just a big mess of likely, stores selling out of production tubes and I don't know what else. All of which would be cleared up by a Full Music website which would cost no more than what they make on a few tube sales...

 

I think a reputable and reliable tube vendor is orders of magnitude more valuable than any individual holy grail tube.

 

Curious of impressions of this modern tube maker.

https://www.straditube.com/aboutUs.html

Some photos of their glasswork
https://cafe.naver.com/kvtlabs?iframe_url_utf8=/ArticleRead.nhn%3Fclubid=29296380%26articleid=143%26referrerAllArticles=true

Testing and burn in
https://cafe.naver.com/kvtlabs?ifra...80%26articleid=147%26referrerAllArticles=true

 

I have had very few problems with NOS tubes on ebay so long as I only buy tubes that have been tested. Maybe 1% are bad and some I return and some I just take as part of the game. I just had one of a pair of awesome sounding el84's go bad after only a few days of use and I'll find another pair.

The sound of tube amps is worth this slight hassle for me. But by all means listen to SS if you can't handle the fury!

I agree about not reading random forums and paying hundreds/thousands for tubes that someone you don't know says are great, but there are some awesome tubes out there that are worth paying more for.

 

IIRC, Allnic was going to be using Stradi as its OEM but i think that deal fell through. So take that for whatever it's worth.

 

Have you thought about getting an Amplitrex or similar tube tester @rhythmdevils? Can never be too careful. I agree that anecdotally I’ve never had a particularly bad tube situation from fleaBay, but I also haven’t tested the tubes so how would I know, you know?

 

Yeah, these caught my eye too. I think they may OEM in China? Hard to tell with this stuff.

 

I don't think I have the energy to be double checking every tube. But it would be nice for the expensive ones. Really though my experience has been that tubes that were sold to me bad have issues right off the bat, which you can catch if you listen to them right away, and sellers are seriously desperate to avoid anything negative and don't even want you instigating an official return, IME, they take care of you because eBay is so harsh on sellers. I've actually got unofficial "credit" with a couple shops from bad tubes that I returned and am waiting for them to find replacements rather than a refund.

My problem is not listening to tubes right away because I often buy them in frenzies when I get an amp that takes tubes I don't have and then by the time I find a problem it's too late for a refund. But it's so infrequent I don’t mind.

If a tube works ie doesn't make horrible noises off the bat, I honestly can't remember any of my NOS tubes going bad on me. Which means if I was more diligent about testing them all on arrival, I'd never have lost any money on NOS tubes on ebay.

 

I figured out my own question:

Full Music has been out of business for 5 years. So everything online is other companies or stores selling off old inventory and that's why it's all disorganized and makes no sense. I was told that the remaining inventory will be gone in 2-3 years. Sad, these 2a3/Q tubes sound awesome in the Stratus.

Which makes Full Music tubes FOMO Holy Grail! Everyone hoard them now!

 

The problem with tube tester results is that there's a very small window of time where they will tell you if a tube is dying, and only if you've already tested it on your tester and have a baseline good reading - results from other testers, even the same model don't necessarily translate.
Tube conductance readings will be within 10% or less of "new" until the tube really starts to die and then it's a crap shoot for how long the tube will last. All a reading at or close to new really says is that it's not dead yet. Tubes that are actually NOS can start with a lower conductance reading than another tube of the same model/brand and live longer. Emission tests mean even less. Almost no tube testers take readings at amplifier operating voltages either. Some people have old specialized machines or new custom ones that do, but not many. Even then, it still just tells you if it's good while it's being tested. Almost always by the time a tester tells you the tube is bad, you can already hear that it's bad.
Visual inspection might be a better indicator of remaining tube life. Discoloration of the plates or glass envelope from overheating (usually darker spots) and discoloration(usually white/grey) of the glass from loss of vacuum are indicators that the tube is worn out.

All that said I like NOS tubes and think they sound slightly better, but I don't have any dht amps or buy any highly coveted tubes at crazy prices.

 

Some tube testers will tell you how much noise the tube has, so you can use the quietest tubes for maximum Hi-Fi™, and also helps match pairs...

 

Good point, they do serve useful purposes - noise, microphonics, pair matching, triode matching, etc. Although, since tubes are not linear and testers usually don't run at amplifier voltages, a pair that's matched and quiet with 120V on the plate may not be the same at 380V. But I think in general it works out alright since they usually don't have to be matched very well anyway.
I just wanted to point out that "NOS 1530/1529 where minimum new is 1200!" doesn't necessarily mean that the tube has a more life remaining than the average NOS tube. I used to think that a tester reading like that slowly counted down like a clock as the tube degraded and if it was above minimum new that meant I had more than the rated operating hours specified for the tube left to use them. It gave me a false sense of confidence about the longevity of tubes I was buying. Which just goes back to what @yotacowboy and @purr1n said about trusted sellers being more important than tester readings.