"notbob" wrote

The problem is finding vacuum tubes. No one makes
the same quality tubes I used to pay $40 for a matched
pair of power tubes.

Have you been living in a cave for the last 30 years?
Consumer have plenty of choices for high quality
new vacuum tubes.

That matched set of new old-stock (NOS) tubes now
costs $400 ...if you can find them!

Yea, so? You can spend that much for new, too.
Consumers have plenty of choices and price ranges
to choose from.

Because of this, the old high end tube amps like
Marantz, Fisher, and MacIntosh can now be had for
peanuts.

Not so. There are many considerations in establishing
the value of classic equipment. Many of the classic
vacuum tube amps (50's, 60's and early 70's) have
limited technical capability in reproducing digital
bandwidth and dynamics... modern tube amps
generally do not have these limitations.

As you point out, there are fringe amp makers. They've
redesigned their products to use the inferior Chinese
and East European tubes.

Quack, quack, quack...

But, they've put absolutely insane prices on them.
$5-20K is typical. Screw that!

Quack, quack, quack...

I'll continue to use my circa '64 Fisher/JBL system as
long as I can.

Translation: You have no hearing acuity or no financial
means .