Who Sells Fully Tested Tubes in North America

[Krinkle]

Hi Guys,

I've been having some bad luck with tubes lately. Seems like I'm getting a lot of tubes that aren't DOA, but have issues. Rattling, buzzing, dying after a few days, etc. All different types, all different brands, not singling anybody out.

I'm just looking for regular current production tubes. Where are the best places to buy tubes that have been fully pretested? I don't care if they are more expensive, I expect that. Just looking to buy tubes and not be troubleshooting an amp only to find out it's the tubes over and over again.

Thanks!

[pompeiisneaks]

Antique Electronic Supply (AES): https://www.tubesandmore.com/ sells tubes that have apex matching done which not only gets them closely matched but also runs them on a burn in if you want. I don't recall if AES does the burn in or not for all tubes, but they do offer it for some, but apex matched have gone through decent testing. So far I've not had any failures.

Not a massive dataset, maybe 4 or 5 matched quads of EL84's or EL34's but they did the business.

~Phil

[xtian]

I've used several dozen JJ sets of 6L6, EL34, 6V6, EL84, Apex matched and burned in by tubesandmore.com. Very pleased.

[Phil_S]

Jim McShane. Though he caters to the hi-fi crowd, he takes care of people with guitar amps, too. He's decidedly old school. Reliable. You are dealing with one individual. If you want something specific, he'll work with you if he can.
http://www.mcshanedesign.net/tubes.htm

[Krinkle]

Thanks guys, appreciate it!!