NOS 'ANOS' ETC TUBES... Be extremely careful!

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SQUAREHEAD

SQUAREHEAD

Well-known member
I don't have time right now to tell the whole story, but I will on Saturday afternoon… but I just want to remind anyone looking at buying tubes… NOS… There is a new term called ANOS… 'Almost new old stock'… Just be very, extremely careful, I absolutely detest corrupt people and they have infiltrated into the audio tube businesses… taking advantage of musicians and audiophile folks.
stick with the well-known guys that we all know and trust… A lot of people selling tubes on EBay, as most of you know, are dishonest and corrupt… Number one rule, don't ever buy tubes without a 100% refund option…
If a deal looks too good to be true, that's just what it is…
 
I've bought ANOS tubes from Doug's and KCA with good results. All have biased up within range in my amps and are still going strong. 50 or less per tube...Sylvania 6L6, amperex, rca etc.
 
I had two "NOS" '70s RFT EL34s show up—the kind with the short bases and labeled with the triangle and a 1 inside, meaning they are the cream of the crop. Well... the bases are loose and wobble around. The glass envelop can almost spin 1/8" in either direction on both. Garbage. Seller is in Europe, so can't really do anything.
 
I think a few years ago ANOS were a pretty safe buy from a reputable seller, but now too many shady sellers on eBay...I have bought from eBay with good results but its been a few years since I don't eBay anymore. Reputable vendors will stand behind their product. I've had 2 bad tubes come from vendors and both were replaced within a week. One new KT88 and an ANOS 6L6GC.
 
"New old stock" by definition is suppose to be a brand new, never used 30 or 40 year old tube thats been sitting on a shelf all those years.

Whats commonly referred to as "NOS" are "pulls" which are 30 or 40 year old [used] tubes that can last 10 years or not at all.

Most "pulls" are noisy and not worth the price they're asking.

In the last 8 years i have seen the "NOS" market dry up alot.

And the more the true "NOS" dry up, the more "pulls" you're going to see floating around as "NOS".

A single true "NOS" 12AX7 can go for $300 to $400 bucks each.

$ .02
 
I put zero stock into seeing NOS. Everyone uses the term now and it basically means nothing.

Always do your homework. I shop for a specific tube and if they don't have readings from their tester I don't buy it. I assume every single tube I'm going to buy on fleabag has been used at some point. As long as there is a good amount of life and the price is good I don't care.
 
ANOS is absolutely not a new term. It's a legitimate term for old stock tubes that are used. Buy ANOS with confidence from a RELIABLE vendor. ANOS is a great way to get vintage tubes for lower prices, if you have a reputable dealer.
 
In my opinion just buy new tubes from new manufacture. Keeps them in business and hopefully gets them making better product so they don't have to cut corners. New tubes are much better than they used to be anyway. New amp are built with them in mind and while the old tubes were great it's really not worlds apart honestly... If you're being truly honest with yourself about it. Many other things in the chain can make up a lot of the difference for the ones that are there.
 
ANOS tubes? As far as I'm concerned, you can stick 'em up your ANOS!
 
From 1999 to 2003 I've bought quite a bit of NOS tubes from a lot of different reputable dealers. At that time I had mostly amps from the 40s, 50s and 60s, and would use old glass on pretty much all of them.
Around 2002 I've tried buying a quad of kt66s for an early 66 JTM45/100 Super PA.
Three "reputable dealers" sold me a very bad set of tubes. Two of them took the tubes back with a re-stocking fee of 20%. The third one just took the $600,00 (at the time this was an insane price for these tubes) for the set and told me to fuck off.
Bottom line... I've worked with vintage amps for the next 10 years, and told every single customer my buying experience with this dealers.
Found a perfect matching quad for the amp through a friend, and sold the other quad much cheaper as singles.
Haven't bought a single old preamp tube since then. That's why I don't use old tubes with new amps. Saving them all for the old amps.
Just be sure you can test the tubes once you get them. And most important, that the seller will take them back in case they are not as advertised.
On all the newer amps I've been using new tubes(GT, JJ, -C-, Ruby, Sovtek, etc...) and they are just perfect for these amps.
My SLO is perfect with the Sovtek 5881s, my Mesa with the regular branded Mesa tubes, the Matchless with their JJs.




 
Seriously though, I know some people who would never even have to consider buying these tubes: Friedman BE owners who got their amps modified.

Why buy ANOS tubes when Dave already gave them the BAM in the BROWN EYE.
 
Chester Nimitz":396qqcyo said:
"New old stock" by definition is suppose to be a brand new, never used 30 or 40 year old tube thats been sitting on a shelf all those years.

Whats commonly referred to as "NOS" are "pulls" which are 30 or 40 year old [used] tubes that can last 10 years or not at all.

Most "pulls" are noisy and not worth the price they're asking.

In the last 8 years i have seen the "NOS" market dry up alot.

And the more the true "NOS" dry up, the more "pulls" you're going to see floating around as "NOS".

A single true "NOS" 12AX7 can go for $300 to $400 bucks each.

$ .02
Click to expand...

People can pull their ANOS as much as they want, but I'm not paying for it!
 
Hey_bert_whtcha_doin_bert":1aew0qpi said:
In my opinion just buy new tubes from new manufacture. Keeps them in business and hopefully gets them making better product so they don't have to cut corners. New tubes are much better than they used to be anyway. New amp are built with them in mind and while the old tubes were great it's really not worlds apart honestly... If you're being truly honest with yourself about it. Many other things in the chain can make up a lot of the difference for the ones that are there.
Click to expand...

I don't have tons and tons of experience with tubes and I do agree with keeping the guys in business and also that it's not world's apart BUT I've got a couple of "ANOS" used vintage tubes in my Bogner (against Reinhold's recommendation) and it sounded better fo sho.
 






Tube Depot would sell these for about $300 a piece, i got all three for $130 cash off CL about a year ago.
New, never used Blackburn Mullards.

You have to do you homework.
 
Been looking for a good I61. I'm jealous. I won't pay those insane prices that's why I actually prefer the "A"NOS
 
maddnotez":1w5oxrfr said:
Been looking for a good I61. I'm jealous. I won't pay those insane prices that's why I actually prefer the "A"NOS
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:D
 
JamesPeters":2d12q344 said:
maddnotez":2d12q344 said:
Been looking for a good I61. I'm jealous. I won't pay those insane prices that's why I actually prefer the "A"NOS
Click to expand...



:D
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:lol: :LOL:
I'm still laughing as I type this. I'm starting to wonder what kind of magic sauce you put in your amps.
 
This is why I own digital tube testers. I let the sellers know that I have them and will be testing the tubes on arrival. I've gotten some amazing tube deals since having them.
 
psychodave":1pl4sr5t said:
This is why I own digital tube testers. I let the sellers know that I have them and will be testing the tubes on arrival. I've gotten some amazing tube deals since having them.
Click to expand...

- Me too, Dave ;) B&K 707 Dyna Jet Mutual Conductance Tube Tester :thumbsup:
 
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