Hi Paul I restore antique radios and encounter tubes 80, 90 and even 100 (hard to believe)years old that are still good. They still have their vacuum and work well.A tube will decline when used but they can last a long time on the shelf.
@hugobloemers44256 ай бұрын
I totally agree, and if they leak, it is over.
@zulumax16 ай бұрын
The getter spot will turn milky white if air has leaked in and lost vacuum, but will continue to absorb small amounts of gas and impurities as the tube ages, even at extreme years on the shelf idle.
@tothemax3246 ай бұрын
Construction materials used back in the day have something to do with longevity, maybe?
@seedney6 ай бұрын
@@tothemax324 maybe bad ones goes to trash already, and/or the quality control was different then.
@Geerladenlad6 ай бұрын
You are 100% correct. I heard Bob Carver talk about how he had some kid fishing military grade tubes out of an airplane graveyard somewhere over in Russia I think.
@danab74726 ай бұрын
I love mixing old and new equipment. I use a Sansui AU-555A as a preamp and run all kinds of DACs and streamers through it. Fifty years of hifi all working together and it’s lovely!
@colanitower6 ай бұрын
Same here. Refurbished vintage + modern enhancements get you to the subtop at a budget. In my case it's a Denon PMA-QS10 II (1998 top of the Denon line), fed from a capable DAC and driving 2 pairs of speakers: 1980s towers with new Kef LS50 Metas on top of them.
@swansong046 ай бұрын
Me too, I have Eversolo DMP-A6 running through my Yamaha C-80/M80 to 2 pairs of HPM-100's and it sounds amazing.
@michaelwright16026 ай бұрын
It sounds so good, the old Sansui... Nothing like the sound out of these old beauties. Very tube like, warm, detailed... Hearing the fingers on the strings, the breath of the singer... None of my modern gear could do what this old 1970 Sansui 4000 does with ease. Even the FM tuner, WRCJ out of Detroit, Jazz and Blues, check out their streaming channel... This old Sansui and my Zu speakers have totally changed what I listen to, and how I listen. I am afraid to recap the Sansui, as it may change the sound. And then the Sansui phono with the Mofi StudioDeck... ;-)
@keithneal53696 ай бұрын
Tubes, or valves as we call them in the UK obviously degrade over time but I believe capacitors degrade far quicker, particularly in areas where the running temperature varies. Going from room temperature to fairly hot especially in valve amplifiers must degrade the capacitors over time. Also the output transformers can become noisy and hum loudly. Still love the valve sound though.
@TheTrueVoiceOfReason6 ай бұрын
If that amp is currently working and "untouched", I'd be more concerned with the capacitors and resistors being out of tolerance or on the failing side. Any electrolytic of that age should be visually inspected for any bulge, pimple, or leak. then they should be tested for capacity and ESR. Resistors, especially the old carbon comp ones in the high voltage paths and high current paths need to be checked for tolerance and noise. Those old tube amps are insanely simple compared to transistor amps when they came into vogue. BTW, it's not just the electrolytics that go bad, so check everything. And those transistors don't last forever, either. They can become noisy, many time with what is called "shot noise", where the noise comes and goes, but the warmer it gets, the more it happens. Plus, transistors are less forgiving than tubes when it comes to overvoltage/spikes. The mechanical nature of a tube lets it "bounce" somewhat to such phenomena, but solid state tends to blow a hole in the PN junction(s) very quick. Plus, there are more than enough older transistors that have issues with lead (as in legs) corrosion getting inside the case, thereby destroying the connections to the die. FETs, are static sensitive, so there's yet another layer of safety needed to work with them and another failure point. They are not as tough as proclaimed.
@parrisgeorge97086 ай бұрын
I'm unfamiliar with "shot noise". Can you explain what it is/sounds like?
@TheTrueVoiceOfReason6 ай бұрын
@parrisgeorge9708 shot noise is like a sssshhhhhhhhhwwwwwssshhhhh that can have crackling mixed in, and quite often ebbs and flows with the heating and cooling of the active device and surrounding area. Almost like listening to AM radio during a thunderstorm. It is generally attributed to the breakdown of the PN junction with time and stress.
@michaelwright16026 ай бұрын
Old and new here, 1970 Sansui 4000 receiver, PS Audio Stellar Gaincell DAC, WiiM Pro with a linear power supply and a pair of Zu DW6 Supreme speakers... Going to build myself a tube/valve amp here in the near future, getting the parts together right now. ;-)
@jonl10346 ай бұрын
I am a BIG (physically and mentally) fan of tubes. I have a tube output in my DAC, a CAT fully-tube pre-amp, and a PS Audio Stellar M1200 amp setup that has a tube input. I have heard small differences when swapping cables and other peripheral things, but NOTHING compared to a recent venture into the area of tube changing. This is one time when I'm going to go vintage in my rant because I had been using really good quality modern tubes, but changing everything out to NOS made such an striking difference, I was astounded and am still being astounded every time I listen. For those of you who don't know, NOS stands for New Old Stock, meaning tubes that were manufactured "back in the day", but were never or hardly used. The truth is that back in the 1930s thru 60s when tubes were everything, they were made from better materials and built to higher standards. But before you run off and start buying them, you need to know that there is a LOT to learn about things like gain and compatibility and noise-levels and understanding how certain tubes do better with certain choices in music listening. You need to buy from people who test the tubes and do the RIGHT KIND of testing. I am fortunate in having a brother who understands this stuff about 50 times more than I do, and his suggestions made differences in every corner of my listening experience - tone color, depth, width of soundstage, presence, isolation of instruments, "disappearance" of speakers. It brought the musicians into the room in every dimension. The beauty is that these NOS tubes aren't always super expensive and can be bought off eBay (make sure they take returns). But you do have to know what you're looking for.
@ericelliott2276 ай бұрын
I would recommend Fernando get in touch with Upscale Audio regarding tubes. I'd bet that they would have exactly what he is looking for and when it comes to tubes, their advice is hard to beat.
@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector6 ай бұрын
We love buying from Uncle Kevin👍👍
@cletusberkeley94416 ай бұрын
Hell, I so love my vintage equipment: ST-120 with KT88s, DIY refurbished Voice of the Theatre A7, my own passive crossovers, Teac A-3340S., DIY RaspberryPi /Alllo Boss DAC / MusicServer (2TB) is the only modern implementation. My own design and build power conditioning. I've got a lot of time and $$$ invested in that rig, and I'm absolutely delighted with it! .....whatever makes you enjoy the music ❤
@marcse7en6 ай бұрын
Valves 🇬🇧 Tubes 🇺🇲 can be VERY long-lived, particularly small preamp tubes. I'm sure there are modern replacements that are of equal quality to old stock.
@malcolmnzable6 ай бұрын
Love you work Paul! Tangent: I'm restoring a set of Quad II Monoblock's, but want to feed then with a digital/DAC frontend from a streaming service. My hearing drops at around 9K, not 20K so what should I focus on, Tidal vs Spotify, Roon vs Volumio, up sampling & Filters, vs analogue the whole way through? Yes! I am well down the hifi rabbit hole....
@Fastvoice6 ай бұрын
Sometimes it's not just replacing the tubes. You may also need matched pairs and/or have to measure and tune the tube bias (if they are in the power stage and not only preamp) - which is a work for specialists. Otherwise you may be disappointed with the result.
@carlsitler90716 ай бұрын
New gear is so good and extremely cheap (except good speakers). Douk has a $50 tube preamp better than most old stuff.
@tweakerman6 ай бұрын
You can always recap your vintage equipment with modern capacitors, then you will have the best of both worlds😁
@spacemissing6 ай бұрын
If you want to, try new tubes, but Good Grief, keep the old ones and make sure you know exactly which one was in which socket so that if you want to go back it will be precisely as it was before.
@gotham616 ай бұрын
I disagree with Paul. Tubes do not age just sitting in their boxes, only with use. You can put 80 year old NOS tubes in a tube tester and they will measure as new. They also usually last much longer in use than modern Russian or Chinese tubes. Back in the day they made the more common tube types by the tens of millions, so there are still NOS tubes to be found.
@TheDanEdwards6 ай бұрын
" Tubes do not age just sitting in their boxes" - did Paul claim that? I presumed, when Paul commented on old tubes, he was discussing tubes that were used. And near the end he recommends find old tubes as close to the original as possible.
@zulumax16 ай бұрын
I have had more of the modern tubes go to air than older NOS tubes. Several pairs of the Russian Tung Sol 6L6G tubes were gassy and ended up loosing all of their vacuum. I bought many batches of NOS Sylvania Baldwin 12AU7A tubes from 1963 and never a problem.
@zulumax16 ай бұрын
@@TheDanEdwards I think he was mentioning the seal of the vacuum would fail with age. He did not mention how many hours may be on them, just that tubes in general loose the ability to transconduct the more you use them, and transistors last forever.
@paulredding53476 ай бұрын
I've heard Paul say, he's not a fan of tubes in many of his videos. IMO not a good source for the question.
@zulumax16 ай бұрын
@@paulredding5347 He changed his opinion on that when they auditioned the BHK in blind tests with mosfets vs. tubes. He just says tubes not good for driving speakers, transistors better. I would tend to agree in that application.
@wayoutofbounds6 ай бұрын
I think it's perfectly fine to mix vintage with the modern. In my opinion, aside from digital Class-D amplification, solid-state and especially tube amp designs are really mature and haven't changed dramatically in the past couple of decades. Same can be said for most of the speaker designs out there. What has changed are the sources we use: streaming, digital media, DAC's, etc. So, if I am completely happy with my front-end (amps, pre-amp, etc.) and especially speakers, I would hold onto them the longest and look at "modernizing" my digital sources...especially DAC's...when the upgrade bug bites as that technology is constantly evolving.
@markmeridian33606 ай бұрын
Class D isn't digital.
@stevethetoolman24356 ай бұрын
Thank you Paul. Always sensible advice. Your the Yoda of HiFi!
@musoangelo6 ай бұрын
It's hard to answer questions like that. The thing I worry about is making sure that, if the tubes are changed out, is to make sure that the new tubes are biased correctly and that the old tubes, marked as to which sockets they came out of and making sure that they're biased correctly if you're putting them back in. You can destroy the tubes and even damage the amp if you're just tube rolling and not monitoring tube bias on any amp, especially an old one.
@biketech606 ай бұрын
I have tried , and preferred , Psvane 6SN7 triode preamp tubes over 1950's Sylvania NOS tubes . Unsure of life span , but sonically superior in every way .
@tothemax3246 ай бұрын
I have Sylvania GTA 6sn7/6sl7 soooo sweet, I don't know what planet your on 😂
@jimgardner51296 ай бұрын
Hey! Thanks for this video! I've always been a fan of the smaller snub nose revolvers since the days of Get Smart. I'm 60 and Canadian so guaranteed I'll never hold one. Also not a gun aficionado. His had a visible hammer so this isn't his but still damn beautiful.
@jonm15446 ай бұрын
Tubes got trickier to acquire during covid. I think there are only 2-3 manufactures of tubes left worldwide at this point.
@parrisgeorge97086 ай бұрын
Paul thanks for the video. I can't speak to original vs new tubes. What I can speak to is playing around with some of the mainstream phono cartridges. There are a few models that I owned when in my early 20's that over the last few years I "replicated" because I wanted the sound that my memory said was there. The thing is that over the years I remembered things as from back then WAY better than they actually are in this case. Often times I think we tend to have rose colored memories. Not always mind you but it does happen. At least for me it does ;)
@stephenchen14206 ай бұрын
I own a pair of VTL Deluxe 300 monoblocks manufactured 1989. The units have been updated & upgraded, & recently serviced. New old stock (NOS) tubes are increasingly hard to get, but do have a stash of them. Output tubes are even harder, some of my new 6550 were failing, so I replaced them with new Gold Lion KT88 which are supposed to replicate the sound of the old classic. So although they are not "exactly" the way they were in 1989, I belive that with the mods & tube selection, they are "even better". Again as Paul says, I respect those who want the very original sound, but good luck sourcing those NOS tubes!
@stephenchen14206 ай бұрын
By the way, my PS Audio P10 power plant supplies more than enough juice for the VTLs, which I don't push too hard anyway.
@cletusberkeley94416 ай бұрын
SWEET ❤😂
@airgead53916 ай бұрын
Yes, the Gold Lion KT88 sounds very good. I use them. Also I compared GEC KT66 with new KT66 from Gold Lion: about the same sound, equally well, I couldn't believe my ears!
@stephenchen14206 ай бұрын
@@airgead5391 , it's almost like having a new amp, around 16 hours on it so far.
@albanana6836 ай бұрын
I have the same pair of amps. The original GE tubes didn't last long and I replaced them with Sovtek many years ago. Thanks for the suggestion of the KT88s, trying out different tubes on a whim is not really an option when you have 16 to replace.
@joesshows67936 ай бұрын
This guy needs to test out the tubes and get back to us cause it would be nice to know the results!
@carlsitler90716 ай бұрын
Paul, the question was which is better, not which you prefer due to nostalgia. I love the 1971 Mach One but new Vette is better. My 1981 280ZX was my favorite. It didn't corner as good as my 914 and didn't have the torque like all my late '60s, early '70 V8s but it was the most fun.
@skip18356 ай бұрын
Personally, because of my own experience with tubes, I'm on the same page with Paul (maybe a super old 300B vintage type power amp might be a different cup of tea, which Paul seemed to allude to in regards to using new or newer old stock) however, take extra care pulling those puppies in and out - you're dealing with the "mechanical" connectors of the tube sockets, those can be degraded because of excessive tube rolling. I'm running an ARC front end, both phono and line stage and I've always felt that some of the underground turmoil with the Ref6SE has a lot if not everything to do with it's tube compliment - for whatever reason, most especially it's power supply regulator tube - keep that puppy freshened up and although the preamp tubes can last beyond what ARC recommends, again, something I've personally done, I've also found that benefits can be had by going somewhere just beyond 1/2 and 3/4's of what ARC recommends for tube life span. The cyro thing I don't really get, doubt it's something that can be measured, but having messed with it, I couldn't go back - on that one, I might be hypnotized (a "give in" for you cable haters) but they do seem to last longer if indeed they don't actually sound better too.
@phillipkelly7366 ай бұрын
A tube is a tube. The size of the glass envelope will make a difference giving a better reverb
@faludabutt82536 ай бұрын
I never listened to tube gear when I was young. People who yearn for vintage sound must have experienced it. I do have AR valve amp but I hardly use it. Valve pre-amps I do use
@Geerladenlad6 ай бұрын
You could go NOS on the tubes but they tend to be a lot more expensive. There's some really good newer tubes out there now. I know there was a time when people got away from tubes and the manufacturing of them and the quality went down for a while but quality control and the know-how is back to make them good again. Tung-Sol for example make great tubes.
@Kiwi_Col6 ай бұрын
If you were that keen on restoring an older piece of any equipment, capacitors are also things you should look at replacing. You can damage components if power supply caps (for e.g.) are not in good condition. Not to mention the poor sound quality they will give.
@fredmartin36196 ай бұрын
Tube rolling… 😊
@hugobloemers44256 ай бұрын
There are already a few comments correctly stating that a NOS tube that is not faulty, has an almost unlimited shelf life. But on the other hand, Paul is ignoring noisy vintage transistors. These where prevalent in Japanese vintage audio equipment. The reason is that the passivization was not well understood. So ironically vintage transistors are suffering from the very problems that Paul attributes to vintage vacuum tubes.
@kristofdeak10306 ай бұрын
Is this true for 1960s-1970s transistors? Or later too?
@hugobloemers44256 ай бұрын
@@kristofdeak1030 This is a typical 70's problem when plastic envelopes became main stream. The issue has been gradually improving in the 80's. In the 50's and 60's, transistors where mainly packaged in glass (50's) or metal (60's and on) envelopes and the passivization of the chip it self was therefore less critical. I work in the semiconductor industry and during the manufacturing process of semiconductors, defects can still occur that will cause reliability issues, also passivization related defects . Tier 1 and 2 manufacturers will make it their highest priority to avoid all reliability issues. (Specially for the automotive industry, because nothing will infuriate a customer more than a perfectly maintained car breaking down for an electronic reason) But sh*t happens, that's life.
@net_news6 ай бұрын
with electronics I go modern without any chance of a doubt, modern just performs much better... and with speakers, well, that's another story in my humble opinion good vintage speakers sound much better than cheap/entry-level modern ones.
@rudolfglaser96646 ай бұрын
When I was still actively making music, the power amp tubes in my Marshalls (tube guitar amplifiers) were completely replaced every year - and because the Voodoo factor is extremely important in this profession, this was done consistently. I don't think anyone heard any major differences, but they felt they were "on the safe side".
@tacofortgens34716 ай бұрын
I see new old vacuum tubes online all the time in original boxes. They are still around. Facebook marketplace
@herbward52406 ай бұрын
Yo Paul , 53 years of servicing hi end audio tells me transistors absolutely DO NOT LAST FOREVER. Outputs, small signal, RF devices , IC’s , all end up in the garbage.
@TSUTENKAKU0076 ай бұрын
Not just tubes how about electrolytic capacitors, coupling capacitors, drifting values with carbon resistors all affects sound quality over the years. So even just replacing tubes to original quality, no vintage equipment can achieve exact original sound quality as it was introduced back then, unless possibly changing all parts,100%, back with new original parts if can be obtained after 20-50 years. LOL
@thomaskandersen72506 ай бұрын
What about a place in the middle? My amps are about 15 years old, and isn´t going anywhere. Maybe some Audio hygiene down the path? How old is "vintage"? Cheers from Denmark.
@jasontimothywells98956 ай бұрын
Rock on Paul ,
@janinapalmer83686 ай бұрын
......and don't forget to recap it too 🥹😝
@bencompson6 ай бұрын
My problem with vintage audio is based on my singular experience with a mid level 1980s 'receiver' that I loved. I use it up until about 10 years ago but things started failing. Pots went bad, panel LEDs failed. Each time a problem came up I repaired it only for another problem to pop up. It finally failed altogether and I gave up. On the other hand, I have a Levinson amp with a Audio Research tube pre-amp that are about 24 years old and sound great. I tried different tubes in the pre-amp once and there was a difference but not what I'd call improvement. I have had no intentions of changing anything from stock.....except that I am now getting a hum through the speakers that was never there before. When the system is warm it goes to completely silent and I am wondering if that is a tube issue.
@Plastpackad6 ай бұрын
A lot of modern stuff sounds clean and lifeless compared to vintage amps. Only problems are the aging. I rather pay $1.000 for a refurbished high end vintage integrated amp from the 70's over a new integrated for the same money. Back then The Stereo Equipment was such a big investment so the hifi manufacturer had to make really great sounding stuff.
@gregjhill6 ай бұрын
The other problem there is that all the resistors and capacitors have aged as well and should be replaced. The resistors have probably drifted in value and the capacitors have dried up causing them to drift. Besides that who makes tubes (valves) these days?
@SantanKGhey12346 ай бұрын
DITCH the vintage gear and go current. I did just in the past few years, it was hard to let go of the nostalgia…. But GAWD I'm so glad I did… it's like going from 240p TV to a 4K flat panel. I love my music so much more!
@funny00000006 ай бұрын
In the old car hobby many people are not keeping them original anymore. They are doing resto-mods where they update the steering with rack & pinion, installing modern engines, and updating suspension to make them drive and feel like brand new cars. I personally like old cars 100% original though but there is something for everyone. I have old cars back in the 60's and I just got a new C8 corvette and several in between. So your car analogy is not spot on anymore but I understand what you are saying.
@hugobloemers44256 ай бұрын
I prefer classic cars original as well. But sometimes you have to make compromises. It is just how far you want to go. No reasonable person will fault you for putting new tires on a classic car. And in many instances the choices are limited, and the tire technology has been brought up to date.
@funny00000006 ай бұрын
@@hugobloemers4425 True. I have a 2001 SVT cobra with under 1000 miles with original tires and a 2003 Z06 corvette with under 1000 miles and original tires. They are still "perfect" but I would drive them on the highway. Just around town at slow speeds.
@BlankBrain6 ай бұрын
@@hugobloemers4425 Maybe even updating 6V to 12V if it's going to be driven a lot. The best car I ever owned was a '70 LTD coupe. Those came with bias tires. I upgraded to Michelin radials, Monroe shocks in the front, and Gabriel Red Rider air shocks in the rear. It rode and handled better. I remember cruising along in eastern Washington at 105 MPH, and it was solid. Pedal was only about ¾ down. I haven't gone over 75 in decades. I had a '55 Packard Patrician, and found Firestone wide whitewalls for it.
@f430ferrari56 ай бұрын
@@funny0000000your cars are not “classic” cars…yet. It’s usually 30 years old to hold that designation. Also, tire manufacturers recommend max life at 10 years and I would say that’s very conservative. I have a 2001 E46 M3 with 30k and 2005 F430 Ferrari with 15k. I have both set of stock wheels and tires. Original. I obviously have not driven on those in years. They are only emergency spares. Even the after market wheels and tires for both cars had tires on them for years. The longest was 17 years for the front BMW. They looked perfectly fine but one day they just felt funny. Just started to feel slippery. May want to just put after market wheels on your two cars. Should drive a bit more. You still have a few years to go before 30 years. Do you just start the car every month or so? Please share any tips. I take mine out around once a month and put 20-30 miles on them each time I usually take out. So I put around 300-400 miles on them each year. Rubber parts like bushings still need replacement.
@Ineedtotakeabreak6 ай бұрын
@@funny0000000What’s the point, if you don’t use it why own it?
@Foxrock3216 ай бұрын
Which Tubes? Russian or Chinese? NOS?
@RoderikvanReekum6 ай бұрын
Replace the capacitors too.
@tothemax3246 ай бұрын
NOS vintage tubes, if you can afford them. I have seen the sheer markup on reissue types as well so pick your poison
@brainache5556 ай бұрын
Not really a real question. Just try you need replacement tubes sooner or later anyway
@user-od9iz9cv1w6 ай бұрын
In this video we learn of two areas where Paul's opinion is less useful. Vintage cars and tube amps. Similarly, don't ask him how to cook the perfect steak. But when we talk about most audio subjects his opinion is great.
@writenamehere00006 ай бұрын
Staying vintage. Im not stupid to throw my money away on modern ....
@BTom166 ай бұрын
Those of us who want tone control and loudness have no choice.
@Plastpackad6 ай бұрын
A lot of Japan amps still have tone controls. Also check out NAD and Vincent.
@shipsahoy17936 ай бұрын
sorry Paul.. transistors don't last forever.. heat is their enemy, and nothing "lasts forever" anyway..
@mvsrpharma6 ай бұрын
❤
@RogierYou6 ай бұрын
What’s that big tube amp on the desk?
@MCMTL6 ай бұрын
Paul said "Audio Research".
@hugobloemers44256 ай бұрын
More interestingly, why does it need an emergency off button?
@JJ-no2ob6 ай бұрын
@@hugobloemers4425in case of gas leaks from the valves! 😂