jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 In a few days I’ll be listening to a Bob Latino VTA-120 amp. The “stock” compliment of tubes in this amp is a quad of KT88s, 3 12AT7s on the driver board, and a GZ34 rectifier. Me being me and never being able to leave well enough alone I’ll want to do a bit of “tube rolling” at some point. What tube vendors does everyone recommend? I tend to place a great deal of value on “customer service” so I’m not necessarily looking for the cheapest ones out there. What say you? THANX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Are you looking for new production tubes, or old stock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Most likely new production. I've seen some of the pricing on NOS tubes and it's pretty much out of reach for me. At least right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I've never bought from a tube vendor (mostly getting tubes from the eBay crap-shoot, or members here), but I've heard good things about a lot of them. Sorry I can't specifically recommend one, but others will, shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 tubedepot.com was very helpful, reasonable, etc. when I was fooling with the AU-111's, etc. [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 can I ask you guys something... I was at the atique dealer the other day, and he's got a huge basket of old tubes sitting by the front door with a sign in it... 5 bucks a tube. is that somethign I should be looking to grab? how do you know if a tube is good or burnt? most of them are sitting loose, but a few are still in there original box. I dont know much about the tube scene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidness Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I, of course, have your old VTA-120. I did a massive amount of tube rolling. I settled on Gold Lion KT-88 reissues (though output tubes made only a slight sonic difference), and the more important driver tubes (and I tried a LOT of options including some VERY expensive tubes), are the tubes that Bob Latino recommends; the NOS Valve Electric Mullard CV4024 tubes. I also run the Mullard GZ33 rectifier, which I love the looks of, and works great in the ST-120. I bought mine here. Bob has/had plenty of CV4024's. If you want to try others, I have a bunch of nice 12AT7's, including RCA black plates, Telefunkens, Valvo Gold Pins, and even a set of the ultra rare ECC801S's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 And I regretted selling it almost immediately... [] At the time I sold that I had a line on some very nice tubed McIntosh kit that belonged to an old friend of mine that lived in North Carolina. About 2 weeks before I was to make the drive up there to pick it up from him he had a massive heart attack and passed away. I went to his funeral but I just couldn't bring myself to say to his widow "Oh by the way Dave was going to sell me his stereo at a really good price. Can I have it now?" She ended up selling the equipment at a premium price. WAY more than he offered it to me for. Good for her. I'm sure she could use the extra $$$. A friend of mine who lives in Savanah also has a ST-120. The last time I visited him we spent a whole day changing tubes and listening. He has settled on a quad of Ruby Tubes KT88s and routinely swaps them with a quad of Winged C 6550s. Like you said though I really heard very little difference between output tubes. If anything the KT88s were better suited for jazz and the 6550 were better suited for R&R. I thought the 6550s had a little more "punch" in the low bass area. In the driver board he absolutely swears by the CV4024s and states that of ALL of the different tubes he's tried in those spots nothing beats the NOS Mullards. Myself I liked the Mullard in the center socket with the JANs in the other two. Of course by that point in the evening my judgement was probably a bit "skewed". + [pi] +[8] = [] As my initial tube set I'be bought a quad of the Ruby Tubes KT88s, a set of 3 JAN 12AT7s and a set of 3 Mullard CV4024s. I won't be changing anything right away. I figure that there has to be a couple of hundred hours of just "breakin" time before any judgements can be made. I may take you up on trying some of the 12AT7s at some point. What I won't be trying is any tube that is refered to a "ultra rare". Where I come from "ultra rare" usually means "ultra expensive". [] THANX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 There's a guy in Orlando who sells tubes... a rather quiet operation, IIRC. My older son visited him while he was in school down there. I'll see if her remembers who/where it was. Also have used tubedepot and been happy with their service. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 I was at the atique dealer the other day, and he's got a huge basket of old tubes sitting by the front door with a sign in it... 5 bucks a tube. is that somethign I should be looking to grab? how do you know if a tube is good or burnt? most of them are sitting loose, but a few are still in there original box. That's what you would call a "crap shoot". There could be a gem there but more likely they've already been picked over by someone who knows tubes and has a tube tester. As a rule very little can be told about the condition of a tube visually. Beyond a breached envelope (glass broken & vacuum gone) you wouldn't know what you had until you tested it. Me... I would pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 There's a guy in Orlando who sells tubes... a rather quiet operation I would be interested in finding out who that is. I'm about an hour from Orlando. If you get a name please let me know. THANX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Mike Marx, SND Tube Sales ( http://www.vacuumtubes.com/), has always been reliable. On the other hand, my nephew has had MANY problems with Radio Electric Supply in Florida. One of the antique radio collectors I do restorations for has bought tubes from Antique Electronic Supply (www.tubesandmore.com) and has always been very satisfied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 can I ask you guys something... I was at the atique dealer the other day, and he's got a huge basket of old tubes sitting by the front door with a sign in it... 5 bucks a tube. is that somethign I should be looking to grab? how do you know if a tube is good or burnt? most of them are sitting loose, but a few are still in there original box. I dont know much about the tube scene The vast majority of tubes I've see out there in antique stores, etc. have no use in modern audio. Most seem to be for old TVs. If you want, go back and make note of the tube numbers. Who knows, you might find something worthwhile. Oh, don't assume the tube inside the box is the original tube! Dibs on the Tung Sol 6550s. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Did you get a new VTA-120 with a LOW GAIN driver board? This is just my opinion, but the original VTA-120 I had had too high a gain. Bob knows exactly what I am talking about as we discussed it and he suggested ways to lower it. One way was using a 12-AU7 instead of the 12-AT7 tubes. You should consult Bob before buying any tubes about this gain issue. The Mullard CV 12-AT7s you guys mention are about as good as you can get. I tried a few others and that tube was much sweeter than the others. Bsaically, it is NOS, and the other I tried were new production. Not as detailed and full sounding. If I'm not mistaken JHoak you bought my VTA-120.........yes? I don't really remember but I do know whoever got it bought it for a VERY low price as I was feeling generous back then I guess. That was a very fine amp and dealing with Bob Latino was first class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Yea... I'm the one that stole... err.. I mean... bought your VTA-120. [] About 2 weeks or so after I bought it I was on the phone with a good friend of mine spouting about how much I was enjoying the whole "tube amp" experience. He was at a point where he felt he needed to "downsize" a bit and offered me his all McIntosh stereo at an absolute steal of a price. As I recall it was a C22 preamp (original not reissue), a MR67 tuner and a pair of MC240 amps for well under $2K out the door. He also had a pair of Klipschorns and a vintage Thorens table but I had no interest in those at the time. As much as I'd like to own a pair of KHorns I have no corners in which to place them. I wasn't able $$ wise to buy his stuff without selling the VTA-120 so it ultimately went to davidness. Anyway circumstances conspired such that I did not end up with the McIntosh kit. See my earlier post for the reason. I think his wife ended up getting almost $15K for the whole system. Still a fair prices I guess. Check out what those pieces are selling for today. No... I did not get the "low gain" version. Should I have? I am engaged in an email conversation with Mr. Latino on that very subject as I write this. I really think I'll be just fine with what I bought. The amp I got from you was stellar driving my La Scalas. I now have Cornscalas which are a bit less effecient. I also got the stepped attenuator kit with the amp so I can crank it back a bit if I need to. THANX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I'm sorry, but "Bob Latino" sounds like a made-up name. Has anyone checked if he's in the witness protection program? Marshall??? ""[]"" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 http://www.tubes4hifi.com/bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I dunno...[][] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 parts express sells tubes......stay away from the NOS trollers working out of their basements as tube experts at night, and working unrelated jobs during the day. These NOS guys will tell you the best thing going is what they have the most of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 I dunno... And I don't really care. He does make some very pretty amps no matter who he may be. BTW... He is a member here [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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