[rosconey]

been on a used organ tube binge on ebay this week-10 tubes for 40$ shipped
6 conn(rca cleartops),2 baldwins(1959)and a pair of hammonds to add to my hammonds collection-

almost got into a bidding war last night but caught myself-

had problems with bolth pairs of nos tubes i bought so far-first pair (ge label,yet look like rca square top getters)- one made a rushing wind sound,seller was standup and replaced the pair-very nice all around sounding tube,little shy on the bass is the biggest issue-

second set of brimars went bad after 20 hrs or so,but it was about 2-3 weeks after i bought them so i didnt even contact the seller-if i loved the sound i would be looking for a replacement- week bass and the top was soggy,nice mids though-


 but i enjoy the used hammonds quad i bought for 11$  much more-
bass is the best ive ever had on this system, and the pressure you feel on some tracks is awsome,i thought preamp tube systems were supposed to be slightly bass shy?
-light top end with the perfect amout of sparkle-with a midrange that is soft yet fast,just draws you into the music-the clarity in details that didnt show with the tempest are evident the most with these tubes

[SET Man]

been on a used organ tube binge on ebay this week-10 tubes for 40$ shipped
6 conn(rca cleartops),2 baldwins(1959)and a pair of hammonds to add to my hammonds collection-

almost got into a bidding war last night but caught myself-

Hey!

    Hmmm.... so! it was you that try to outbid me last night!    Just kidding!

Talking about buying tube. I've been avoiding buying tube off eBay. But believe it or not. Last week I got a matched quad of RCA clear top off eBay. The price was right and the seller got very good feedback. Well, it was late night and I got nothing to do and those clear top look interesting so I bought them

  I've heard more bad stories than good one about tubes from eBay. That is why I have been only buying tube both new production and NOS from a real tube dealers like Upscale Audio and Triodeel and etc.

I think most tube sellers on eBay are just an individual with a very old basic tube tester working in a garage on the weekend with a bucnh of used tube they got from old shops. With that in mind I think most of them lack the mean of a true tube testing procedue. Unlike those real tube dealer with more advance equipments that could do more testing like microphony and etc.

  Anyway, I got those clear top on Friday haven't intalled them yet. I think I will start a new post about my expreience on this tube buying off eBay soon. I will let you know how it turn out... hope that they won't blow up my pre-amp...

Take care,
Buddy

[lcrim]

The best service I have received buying tubes is from the established retailers w/ a web presence.  The eBay sellers are a mixed lot, in far too many cases they take their own sweet time in sending you the goods and act like they are doing you a favor.
I can find a much better price on eBay but its a tradeoff for usually crap service.  Pretty similar experience to tvad4's post above.

BTW-to thread poach - has anyone here tried http://www.watfordvalves.com/ in the UK or http://www.tubemonger.com/  ?   I would like to know what you think of the buying experience from either ?