Who has tubes they can't bring themselves to use?

Tom Bombadil

AK Member
I know there are many of you out there. Who have acquired rare and beautiful tubes over the years, which you just can't bring yourself to put into an amp or preamp to burn up.

Fess up and tell us what you are hoarding.

Or tell us about how you finally pushed yourself to unbox those vintage NIB Genalex Gold Lion KT88s or Western Electric 300Bs and fired them up.
 
I use them........................ eventually. :) Sometimes I sell them if I haven't used them and they are just sitting there for a long time.
 
I have four 845 tubes that a friend gave me while cleaning out her father's cellar. They are RCA and I have no idea if they are new or used, but the tubes and boxes are so cool to look at that I just can't bear to part with them. I don't see any near term reality where I would build or acquire an amp that takes these so they are just shelf art.
 
have a few extra matched sets of 60's Tungsol 6550 and RCA 's 6L6gc's for my main amps and like others hate the idea of having to source more when moneys tighter when I retire in the next few yrs.
I watch like a hawk for deals on these..

hunter
 
I'm a crotchety old iconoclast and I avoid high-zoot audio tubes like the plague. All of my amps are built with type numbers that nobody loves, so I can afford to lay in a lifetime supply when I do the build.
 
My entire tube collection is vintage, and I use whatever I need, without reservation.
Same here....I Roll them. The only items I am hording is:

Case of Weller 12 and 6 Pappy 15yrs and 20yrs...I got these 4yrs ago before the Bourbon frenzy....

Wells12a.jpg
 
I have lots of NOS and used good European and US audio tubes I have no intention of using. I got into this hobby when the last US tube factories had just shut down, and nobody trusted chinese and Russian tubes yet. Now that good tubes are made again I see no sense in using irreplaceable antiques day to day.
 
have a few extra matched sets of 60's Tungsol 6550 and RCA 's 6L6gc's for my main amps and like others hate the idea of having to source more when moneys tighter when I retire in the next few yrs.
I watch like a hawk for deals on these..

hunter
Tomorrow is not guaranteed to us, go ahead and bust 'em out. :)
 
I have lots of NOS and used good European and US audio tubes I have no intention of using. I got into this hobby when the last US tube factories had just shut down, and nobody trusted chinese and Russian tubes yet. Now that good tubes are made again I see no sense in using irreplaceable antiques day to day.
Unless they factor into your retirement portfolio I can't see any valid reason not to use them. :confused:
 
Exactly that, I want to be messing with NOS tubes 30 years from now when I am retired and they're 30 years harder to find.
I'm you in 30 years,I collected my stuff mostly 40 years ago, when people were replacing with SS gear,and there was no value in tube stuff.I wish I had the foresight to buy out some of the shops that went out of business.
 
I'll fess up, I'm a tube hoarder. I have a sizeable stash of NOS and good used tubes some of which probably will never be used by me. I've been collecting tubes since the 60's when they were readily available at any electronic supply house. Most of my audio equipment is tube type and I never know when I'll have to reach into the stash for a tube. I still buy tubes whenever I can find a good deal. I've bought a few pick up truck loads of tubes over the years from closed repair shops which yielded many NOS tubes some of which are rare.
 
I have been hoarding tubes for a good 5 years. I have lots of very valuable examples. The only ones which I don't run are tubes which I don't have an amp for. I tend to hoard 12AX7s, because anyone who doesn't appreciate a good 12ax7 is no friend of mine. I think a lot of my hoarding has to do with ego. I like to be the guy in the club that people come to when they need obscure, rare or expensive tubes. I also like to be able to give them away to folks in my audio club who maybe just looked at ebay and are wondering how to get a foot in the door with tubes. Getting the tubes and sockets for free can be just the push someone needs to dig in and build that phonostage they have been dreaming about. In short, I think they should be enjoyed. If it makes you happy you are doing it right.
 
I have some stuff that is esoteric, useful and rare...and in quantity to build with. It is more a, 'haven't gotten around to it' that there is nothing to plug them into. Their rarity basically sets up their not being used, and offering a large pool of experience with them. One example being the HY51A, and its liddle brother the HY40.
cheers,
Douglas
 
I'm now in my 60s and don't have many exotic tubes. I do use all that I have. Right now my best EL84s, my best 6SN7s, my best 6922/7308s, etc., are all in use. In general, unless one is keeping tubes to sell later or hoping to acquire a great sounding piece later, I feel that the best approach is to use what you have. After all, your hearing is never going to get better. Saving tubes to use 20 years down the road may well find you being unable to hear a difference in them vs re-issues.

And then there is the matter of never using them and passing them onto your children. I've read a lot of articles of how children don't place much value on their parents' things. They live in smaller houses and apartments and don't want much of that stuff. There are services popping up all over the country whose mission is to sell off inherited goods. So hoarding up great and wonderful tubes over a lifetime might come down to some strangers selling them off for 50 cents on the dollar. Not much gained there, excepting maybe pride of ownership during your own lifetime.
 
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I'm only 3 years into this hobby, but through a couple of good bulk buys and some piecemeal deals I've accumulated more than a lifetime's worth of NOS/Good testing signal and power tubes. I have been buying quality new production of late - mostly small quantity KT77, KT120 & KT150 for use in a SE design. Those won't be getting any cheaper either.

With just a couple of exceptions, I have very little need to buy more - unless there's a deal to be had. ;) I use what I need, as I need it. I'll sell off everything I know I won't use in 5 - 10 years.

I agree with Tom B, not much sense in leaving them to family in your will... unless they're into tube audio as well.
 
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