[Tynan AgviÐr]

So I have purchased a very nice integrated amp(Mastersound Due Venti when I
was in Italy www.mastersoundsas.it )), and now the tubes have stopped to
work. My amp has 4 x EL34 and 2 x 12AU7s. I would like to replace them all
at once. I dont really care about the "new old stock" stuff..I just want
some good sounding, long lasting, rugged, available substitutions. the last
ones I have used were a military version of TUNG SOL for the 12AU7s, and JJ
Teslas for the EL-34s. I am open to any and all suggestions. So Sound
quality, dependability, availablility, ability to be matched, and good
reputation are all very important. I obviously dont want to pay thousands
for tubes, but I dont mind paying a reasonable price for something that
will serve me well. thanks to you very much my friends and please forgive
my english.

-Tynan

[Peter Wieck]

Please forgive the top-post, but please note the interpolations below:


On Jan 5, 2:13*am, "Tynan AgviÐr" wrote:
So I have purchased a very nice integrated amp(Mastersound Due Venti when I was in Italy *www.mastersoundsas.it)), and
now the tubes have stopped to work.

How do you know this? The point is that it takes some combination of
thousands of hours and/or abuse to wear out an output tube such as the
EL34/6CA7 in a reasonably well-designed amplifier. So, you should make
sure that the amp itself is working within its proper design
parameters before you automatically blame the tubes for failing. Just
a normal precaution to make sure that you are doing what you need to
do vs. what you think is the problem.

It would not hurt to get access to a decent MC-type tube tester
(assuming you do not already have one) to verify that the tubes are
bad anyway. Furthermore, it is quite unlikely that the small-signal
tubes are bad - again, unless there has been some sort of abuse or
component failure. Those should be tested in any case.

I obviously dont want to pay thousands
for tubes, but I dont mind paying a reasonable price for something that
will serve me well.

Teslas are just fine, as are some of the modern Eastern European &
Russian-made incarnations of old names such as Mullard and Gold Lion.
Just avoid Chinese-made tubes. There are any number of tube sellers
out there with a greater or lesser reputation, a couple of whom hang
about in here (Lord Valve being one). Then, there is always eBay - and
a number of reputable sellers in that venue at usually reasonable
prices.

So, summing up, before replacing the tubes:
a) Test the old tubes to confirm your belief that they have failed.
b) Check that the amp is operating correctly and that there are no
secondary issues to the confirmed-bad tubes.
c) Purchase tubes from a reputable seller.
d) Avoid Chinese-made tubes. Verify this with the seller.

And, after all that, enjoy!

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA