I’ll talk to the mfgr directly and watch/read what I find on my own (I have learned about limited suppliers/mfgrs and that there are few/er options that in decades before), but opening the door to any of you who have been in the tube world and may have thoughts to share. It’s my first tube amp and loving it, since it’s warming up the system very nicely - the other key pieces are a Pass 350.8, aurender n200, holo may kte, and Logan CLX Art speakers.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with a newcomer to tubes!
Edit: The amp was completely rebuilt by VAC about 2 years ago and we recently have heard some scratching noises when turning the system on, so assuming it might be time to swap them out.
Buying tubes is sort of a hobby in itself. After designing tube amps for decades and acquiring just about every commonly manufactured audio tube from every company that made them…you pretty much just have to buy them and test them.
I’ve had tubes from the same manufacturer, made in the same batch sound completely different. And tubes made by different manufacturers out of completely different materials and 40 years apart sound identical.
It’s just kind of the nature of analog technology.
So just find some tubes at the price point you want to spend, buy them and try them. Over and over until you find what you enjoy.