gofar99 Messages: 1947 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, some are better and some not. Many octal tubes from about 1940 to 1960 were quite good. But by the same token new production versions (an example is the 6V6) have considerably better ratings. Which sounds better is a matter of preference. It seems to me (and I use lots of tubes) that NOS preamplifier tubes tend to sound nicer than new ones and that new power tubes are better than NOS. YMMV. One thing to watch out for is that just because it is NOS does not mean it is good for anything or more valuable. NOS does not equal worth costing more. There are many on places like ebay that are "antique", "vintage" and such being marketed at high prices. Many can be had from some of the normal tube sources for much less cost. Worse there is a problem with folks selling used tubes as NOS and even remarking some as type that they are not.
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