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Cake day: October 23rd, 2023

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  • paigezpp@alien.topBtoAudiophileAre rare NOS tubes worth it?
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    11 months ago

    In the past, maybe 10 years ago, I would have said yes in support of NOS tubes. Because newly made tubes were an after thought in a dying industry. Now, I am not so sure for the following reasons:

    1. Newly manufactured tubes have come a long way, both in terms of quality, reliability because of manufacturing process, newer and better materials. Any difference you hear is down to preference and not because NOS tubes are better.

    2. There are less and less NOS tubes on the market. What is readily available are not the best examples. Unobtainium is now used more often and people are resorting to NOS tubes just because they are NOS even though they may not be great. Not to mention the issues with finding a matched pair or quad.

    3. There are so many fakes and remarked tubes on the market it’s almost not worth the risk.

    4. It’s not unusual to spend a ton on a NOS tube only to have it die after a few dozen hours. Then you are pretty much out of luck.

    Modern tubes like the new WE300B or Takatsuki 300B hold up really well and in a lot of ways outperform NOS tubes.




  • One of the reasons that Decware is so popular is they make high quality stuff that are not priced ridiculously. A similar amp from some exotic builder or high end brand is probably going to cost more.

    Having said that, you can get Japanese or Chinese kits that you can build or get someone to build for a lot less and you can even get prebuilt units if you look hard enough.

    Taobao and Alibaba is a good place to start if you are on a budget.