• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Am I being too picky?

w1jim

w1jim

I can fix it but good...
Subscriber
I picked up a Chinese phono preamp with a tube stage and purchased 2-5654W tubes on eBay to upgrade the Chinese tubes.
While I didn’t buy s “matched pair” the seller sent me one FAA JAN and one Raytheon tube.
The FAA JAN tube seems to have more silver at the top versus tge Raytheon.
I told the seller I was disappointed he sent me different brands.
Does any of this really matter?
w1jim

IMG_9755.jpeg
 
Register to hide this ad
Hmmm. Well, the FAA definitely didn't make tubes, so that tube had to be made by someone else.

Can you pull both of them out and take a picture of both, showing the sides more clearly? It's possible that the FAA tube may be made by Raytheon...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
No, I don't think so. I'd probably go for a brand match. IMO it can make a subtle difference. There are plenty of brand-matched pairs for $25 or so.
 
FAA is Sylvania IIRC.

Its reasonable to want the same brand\build of tube on both sides of the amp.

If you bought an advertised 'set' of tubes id expect the same brand between them. If you bought from multiple listings, or a single 'multiple are available' listing that didnt specify a brand, I wouldnt fault the seller.
 
w1jim said:
I picked up a Chinese phono preamp with a tube stage and purchased 2-5654W tubes on eBay to upgrade the Chinese tubes.
While I didn’t buy s “matched pair” the seller sent me one FAA JAN and one Raytheon tube.
The FAA JAN tube seems to have more silver at the top versus tge Raytheon.
I told the seller I was disappointed he sent me different brands.
Does any of this really matter?
Click to expand...

The differences in the silver getter appearance is not significant. Each manufacturer used a different getter arrangement, and it's only there to absorb any stray oxygen left inside the tube at manufacture.

That's kind of crappy of the seller. Did they not have photos? I sell a lot of tubes on Ebay (with really clear photos so you know exactly what you are getting) and I would not do that to someone. If you feel what you received was not what was advertised, even as an Ebay seller I would recommend absolutely request a refund and get your money back or a replacement set that matches what was advertised. I agree with @zackthedog - get a good electrically (or at least brand/date matched) set for $25.

Technically, all that really matters is that the two tubes perform and sound the same (at least without distraction). Try listening, then swap the tubes and listen some more, and see if you hear any difference. If you can convince yourself they sound the same, the cosmetic differences may be easier to put up with (but I still would not, that would bug the crap out of me- like wearing two different colored shoes.)
 
I admit to wanting the same visual appearance in pairs of things, though my 6L6 amp has one pair of Sylvania and one pair of Westinghouse installed right now. I have some RCA tubes but one pair has crappy paint and I really don't want to look at a pair metal tubes with rust bubbles through the paint.
 
If I am buying tubes for a specific spot in an amp like pairs or quads or how ever many in pairs I would not only purchase the same brands, the same plate stlyes in fact matched pairs closely matched, why wouldn't you?

Just to see if an amp works is one thing but when buying tubes I would make sure the seller specifically states matched
 
Last edited:
I’m trying to get the seller to send me another tube - one or the other.
I suspect the JAN FAA spec’ed tubes are ruggeder than the general purpose Raytheon.

Frankly, if he has another mismatched set I'll probably buy that and then have 2 sets - it's not like it's big money. I'm just waiting for him to check his inventory.
And no, he didn't say he'd be sending me 2 of the same tubes - he lists both versions on the ebay listing so it's understandable why he sent these.

The only other tube gear I have is my 600watt ham radio amplifier with 4-572B tubes, but that's a whole other monster!
 
i dont care about brand, but if i have "matched" tubes i want them correctly matched, which means same manufacture and era/construction type in addition to matched by transconductance and plate current.
 
John Berard said:
Did you get them from Radiotinkerers?
Click to expand...
Yes I did.
He replied that he thought these were the last ones he had but his ebay listing still shows 2 available - he said he was going to check his inventory.
He had responded promptly but despite my having sent him several messages he hasn't responde in several days.
I feel like he's ghosting me but on the other hand I see he has a lot of tubes listed and can appreciate how he can get overwhelmed and it's not like it's a critical matter.
 
wparks said:
The differences in the silver getter appearance is not significant. Each manufacturer used a different getter arrangement, and it's only there to absorb any stray oxygen left inside the tube at manufacture.

That's kind of crappy of the seller. Did they not have photos? I sell a lot of tubes on Ebay (with really clear photos so you know exactly what you are getting) and I would not do that to someone. If you feel what you received was not what was advertised, even as an Ebay seller I would recommend absolutely request a refund and get your money back or a replacement set that matches what was advertised. I agree with @zackthedog - get a good electrically (or at least brand/date matched) set for $25.

Technically, all that really matters is that the two tubes perform and sound the same (at least without distraction). Try listening, then swap the tubes and listen some more, and see if you hear any difference. If you can convince yourself they sound the same, the cosmetic differences may be easier to put up with (but I still would not, that would bug the crap out of me- like wearing two different colored shoes.)
Click to expand...
The seller was selling unmatched singles of several makes. This is a buyer issue.
picker.jpg
 
w1jim said:
Yes I did.
He replied that he thought these were the last ones he had but his ebay listing still shows 2 available - he said he was going to check his inventory.
He had responded promptly but despite my having sent him several messages he hasn't responde in several days.
I feel like he's ghosting me but on the other hand I see he has a lot of tubes listed and can appreciate how he can get overwhelmed and it's not like it's a critical matter.
Click to expand...
Honestly, if you are looking for matched pairs, don't gamble trying to get the lowest price. He was selling singles, unmatched of various brands and probably of limited quantity.
 
John Berard said:
Honestly, if you are looking for matched pairs, don't gamble trying to get the lowest price. He was selling singles, unmatched of various brands and probably of limited quantity.
Click to expand...

This looks to be the right answer. If that's the listing, I wouldn't necessarily expect to get a matched pair out of that for $5 a tube.

I wouldn't sell tubes like that personally, but it doesn't seem like what OP got was out of line.
 
Thanks for everyone's input.
I'm good with what he sent me so we're all set.
Walt at Radiotinkerers has been great. I thought he wasn't responding but apparently the fault was with the eBay messaging system.
Surprisingly the Fosi phono preamp came with GE JAN5725W tubes and not those cheapy Chinese tubes I've seen with other gear so I'm going to play with those for a while.
 
w1jim said:
I picked up a Chinese phono preamp with a tube stage and purchased 2-5654W tubes on eBay to upgrade the Chinese tubes.
While I didn’t buy s “matched pair” the seller sent me one FAA JAN and one Raytheon tube.
The FAA JAN tube seems to have more silver at the top versus tge Raytheon.
I told the seller I was disappointed he sent me different brands.
Does any of this really matter?
w1jim

View attachment 3628468
Click to expand...
its only appearence. I too am picky when it comes to tube maker and appearence I wont buy say dark glass tubes when one is clear
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom