Shipping tubes...how fragile are they really?

IronLion · « **on:** 16 Apr 2006, 09:34 pm »

Hey, I was wondering if anybody could tell me just how fragile vacuum tubes are? I have some 12AU7's from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio on their way to me in New York, but I had my mail forwarded to me from my apartment and apparently my brother opened up the box with the 12AU7's and put them (packed in their original individual tube boxes) in along with the rest of my mail into a big unpadded Priority Mail envelope. Is there a good chance that they will get broken, or damaged somehow in shipping? If they arrive and the outside glass isn't broken is there still a chance that internally something could have gotten messed up in the shipping process? How can I go about telling if something is wrong? Or am I just being paranoid? In my experience tubes are pretty robust but my experience with them is really very limited. Any info or advice people could offer about this would be much appreciated.

warnerwh · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Apr 2006, 10:01 pm »

If they appear ok then I'd try them. If they work ok I wouldn't worry about it. I've dropped them on the kitchen floor and they worked fine.

rosconey · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Apr 2006, 10:09 pm »

what type did you buy

i just picked up these for my candela (not shipped yet) so i can do some swapping

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-TRIPLE-MICA-GE-BLACK-PLATE-6189-12AU7-ECC82-TUBES_W0QQitemZ9709301935QQcategoryZ73378QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Levi · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Apr 2006, 10:26 pm »

Anything can happen during shipping. If you have access to a tube tester, it wouldn't hurt to get it checked. You would know if the tubes are damaged or shorted inside. Don't worry, there will be no explosion or fires. They will simply won't work or sound right.

Quote from: IronLion

Hey, I was wondering if anybody could tell me just how fragile vacuum tubes are? I have some 12AU7's from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio on their way to me in New York, but I had my mail forwarded to me from my apartment and apparently my brother opened up the box with the 12AU7's and put them (packed in their original individual tube boxes) in along with the rest of my mail into a big unpadded Priority Mail envelope. Is there a good chance that they will get broken, or damaged somehow in shipping? If they ...

IronLion · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Apr 2006, 10:34 pm »

Thanks for the advice Levi. So basically just put them into my amp when they arrive, and if they sound fine then they probably didn't sustain any damage I"m guessing?

Levi · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 Apr 2006, 10:40 pm »

It works for me so I would say absolutely.

Quote from: IronLion

Thanks for the advice Levi. So basically just put them into my amp when they arrive, and if they sound fine then they probably didn't sustain any damage I"m guessing?

SET Man · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Apr 2006, 12:23 am »

Hi,

Iron, I guess your brother is not an audiophile right?

I got tubes from Upscale before and Kevin and his team does a good packing job. So, it beats me of why can't your brother just relable the box than reship it to you... it doesn't cost much more than the flat rate envelope for sure.

Anyway, smaller tube are pretty tough but still... just hope that they won't be crush by some postman's ass.

Seriouly... next time make sure your brother do it the right way.

Most improtantly. When you recieved them. Check if there is any crack on the glass envelope, and look and shake them a bit and see if there is any loose part(s) inside. If you don't see anything funny than I think you should be fine.

Btw... what 12AU7 you bought and what they will go in to anyway? I have a pair of Mullard CV4003 special garde that I got from Kevin in my Audio Note M1 pre's line section and they sound wonderful and noise is much slower then the stock tubes.

Take care,
Buddy

Gordy · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Apr 2006, 02:46 am »

A very good habit to get into is to always handle your tubes while wearing cotton gloves! Any oil from your fingerprints can cause hot spots on the glass and shorten their life span. This isn't as critical with relatively low temp signal type tubes, but still a good habit!

Also, I've had an installed and double boxed tube get jarred and go microphonic during shipping... one way to check for this is, once they've apparently fired up okay and you've then turned up the volume... lightly tap the chassis of your preamp with your fingernails or a pencil and listen for the tap noise coming from the speakers. Actually, even flipping the selector switch can sometimes cause 'em to 'sing'. It's pretty rare, but it does happen...

IronLion · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 Apr 2006, 04:42 am »

Hey SETman, thanks for the advice, my brother won't do it again after the email I just sent him.

I ordered three pairs of 12AU7's for my Unison Research Unico, one pair of Mullards, one Radiotechnique, and one Siemens. I hope they arrive alright, but if they don't my brother's gonna buy the replacements...thanks again.