Tubes-Russian export ban effects tube supplies

txcoastal1
txcoastal1 Posts: 13,303
in 2 Channel Audio
Mike Matthews owner of Electro Harmonix says no more Russian vacuum tubes in 2022

https://www.gearnews.com/mike-matthews-owner-of-electro-harmonix-says-no-more-russian-vacuum-tubes-in-2022/

https://fortune.com/2022/03/11/russia-export-ban-timber-cars-sanctions-ukraine-invasion-putin/
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    Never liked EH tubes.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,303
    edited March 2022
    Since the EHX family of tube brands includes: Tung-Sol, Electro-Harmonix, EH Gold, Genalex Gold Lion, Mullard, Svetlana and Sovtek, this could a bad year for manufacturers looking to build valve amps, and valve-based effects.
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,901
    edited March 2022
    Kind of a given, and getting lots of airplay (so to speak) on lots of different fora.
    Could be a big deal for the e-lectrickle gee-tarists of the (Free) world, but I think most vacuum tube users maintain a stash. 'specially guitarists, since many of their amps drive the snot outta the tubes to produce that epic tone...

    The EH 7591A and 7868 (same tube, different bottle and base) are actually pretty good hifi tubes -- especially given that there is absolutely no current production competition (at least for the latter).
    There might be other brand-names on modern 7591As, but all of the current production 7591A tubes are Russian-sourced, AFAIK.

    As an aside, there are too many 7591A amplifiers here... :#



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  • 55SLA70
    55SLA70 Posts: 45
    edited March 2022
    It’s especially concerning for the companies that market components utilizing KT-120, KT-150 and KT-170 tubes. I think they were only produced in the EH (Reflektor) factory at Saratov.
    Old Name: 55LS70Preamp: Decware CSP3 w/ 1 x Amperex 7308, 2 x Amperex 6922's, 1 x RCA 5R4GY Power Amp: Cary SLA Signature 2 X Mullard GZ32's, 2 X RCA 5691's, 4 X Tung Sol 6550 reissuesAnalog: Rega Planar 3 w/ P2000 motor, Deep Groove sub platter, Incognito tonearm wiring, JA Michell counterweight, Tangospinner feet, Dynavector 10 x 5 cartridge, Parks Audio Budgie Hybrid phono stage w/ 2 x BEL 6922's.Radio: HH Scott 330D tuner with HH Scott Type 335 multiplex. Both modified by Mapleshade.Digital: Marantz ND8006Speaker Cables: Kimber Kable 8TC'sSpeakers: Polk Audio LSIM 703'sInterconnects. Tuner: Audioquest Black Mamba II's, phono stage: Kimber Kable Hero's, PreAmp/Amp and Digital: Audioquest King Cobra"s
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,901
    Single-source is always fraught with risk.
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  • 55SLA70
    55SLA70 Posts: 45
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    Single-source is always fraught with risk.

    So very true.
    Old Name: 55LS70Preamp: Decware CSP3 w/ 1 x Amperex 7308, 2 x Amperex 6922's, 1 x RCA 5R4GY Power Amp: Cary SLA Signature 2 X Mullard GZ32's, 2 X RCA 5691's, 4 X Tung Sol 6550 reissuesAnalog: Rega Planar 3 w/ P2000 motor, Deep Groove sub platter, Incognito tonearm wiring, JA Michell counterweight, Tangospinner feet, Dynavector 10 x 5 cartridge, Parks Audio Budgie Hybrid phono stage w/ 2 x BEL 6922's.Radio: HH Scott 330D tuner with HH Scott Type 335 multiplex. Both modified by Mapleshade.Digital: Marantz ND8006Speaker Cables: Kimber Kable 8TC'sSpeakers: Polk Audio LSIM 703'sInterconnects. Tuner: Audioquest Black Mamba II's, phono stage: Kimber Kable Hero's, PreAmp/Amp and Digital: Audioquest King Cobra"s
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,562
    edited March 2022
    I buy only merican, English and few German, Hungarian.
    I get it though.
    Hope @nooshinjohn has a stash for his beast's.
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,446
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    I buy only merican, English and few German, Hungarian.
    I get it though.
    Hope @nooshinjohn has a stash for his beast's.

    Indeed I do... I have enough to make it through.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • jbreezy5
    jbreezy5 Posts: 1,141
    Tube shortage and generally higher costs, esp. for NOS has me rethinking tubes role in my system. Maybe 12au7s as an exception.

    Might need to focus on tube pre/solid-state amp combos for my tube injection, rather than all tube (i.e. tube amps) going forward.
    CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC

    DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)

    Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777

    Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)

    Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150

    Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i

    Turntable: Dual 721 Direct-Drive w/Audio Technica AT-VM95e cart

    Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables.
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    I popped on two quads of KT120's and a quad of KT77's within the past ten days or so.. Glad I did as the Tung Sol Power Tubes are getting very scarce and the price is shooting up, if you can find them.

    If the Import Ban remains intact, this could be devastating for Tube Amp Manufacturers.
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  • Milito
    Milito Posts: 1,960
    No one should be buying any Russian products right now.
    Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,195
    edited March 2022
    May be this will see revitalization of an American tube maker (for power tubes). I know it wouldn't be an easy or inexpensive endevour. But the opportunity is there if you can get passed the environmental issues inherent with the process. Or, I guess the Chinese will fill the void since they already have manufacturing capabilities and are much less concerned about environmental issues.

    I remember when the SED Winged =C= plant was shut over 15 years ago. I have my stash of EL34's and 6L6's my tube amps use. Tube Depot is currently selling a "found a stash" of NOS Winged =C= tubes and they are EXPENSIVE....lol. I bet the current Russian made tubes go way up as well.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,195
    edited March 2022
    Tube Depot pretty much shows all Russian tubes either not for sale at this time or out of stock and possible back-order. Or a few are "limit 10 pcs."

    I was going to grab a quad of Tung Sol 6L6's just for kicks...........guess not.

    H9

    P.s. SED Winged =C= 6L6's are $149.95 each! Good think I have (3) quads in my stash.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,562
    edited March 2022
    Dang you really are tube sick.....


    Very admirably 😁

    I too would love to see more American tube manufacturing.
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    edited March 2022
    Milito wrote: »
    No one should be buying any Russian products right now.

    Agreed, but I had no issue with buying Russian tubes that were already in the inventory of US Distributors. I now hopefully have enough power tubes to outlast me, or at least until another country picks up the slack.

    If you happen to fertilize your lawn or garden, the chances are fairly good the Nitrogen in the product came from Russia.

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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,195
    Yep, I'm sure my lawn service is going to be very expensive this year. I haven't done any research to see the alternates to Russian fertilizer. I don't have a great lawn, but I do pay a service to weed and feed 4-5 times a year to keep the dandelions and other weeds at bay as well as trying to keep it looking presentable and healthy.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,195
    edited March 2022
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Dang you really are tube sick.....


    Very admirably 😁

    I too would love to see more American tube manufacturing.

    Yea, at one point a few years ago I had a real tube buying/hoarding problem :o . It's abated simply because I hoarded everything available and I now have triplicates of many, many variants of signal and power tubes and rectifiers. It was somewhat an addiction :) . I sure did enjoy the hunt as much as the listening.

    I started hoarding/buying - Craft beer the past 3-4 years (replacing the tube buying). Specifically mostly barrel aged Stouts/Barely Wines and ales. That gets expensive fast and my basement has A LOT of deliciousness stored down there.

    My GF finally said enough is enough.......we need to start consuming the beer and not buying as much. Luckily barrel aged Stout is sturdy enough to cellar for a 3-5 years so it doesn't really go bad.

    It's always something....lol

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,562
    I feel your tube buying pain, yes the hunt and buying is addictive fun.
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,529
    The local Russian mob will probably move in and take over the Saratov factory like they tried before. Then it'll go down the tubes in short order.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,562
    *rimshot*
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,602
    Either the Chinese will quietly slip them through their borders or just put Russian
    Name stamps on their tubes. Stand by for fun and games.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,195
    https://www.guitarworld.com/news/western-electric-american-guitar-amp-tubes?utm_content=guitar-world&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0dlsbnyQahkgBl_MVIw_qwapblfGtVPhNiKf_cNrk3TyCuXzPwzf1OfFo

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    This week I spoke to one of the helpful folk at Rogue. I was asking about an octet of KT-120s that my mono blocks require.
    Turns out, they had none but are expecting a shipment in a couple weeks . . . we shall see.

    Elsewhere, prices are reDick!
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,562
    GlennDog wrote: »
    This week I spoke to one of the helpful folk at Rogue. I was asking about an octet of KT-120s that my mono blocks require.
    Turns out, they had none but are expecting a shipment in a couple weeks . . . we shall see.

    Elsewhere, prices are reDick!

    I just for giggles watched a set of 6 nos real Tung-Sol 6550 power tubes go for $1000. Buy it now lasted about 5hrs. I have no idea of their real worth but they were super cool looking so I watched.
    😊
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  • jbreezy5
    jbreezy5 Posts: 1,141
    GlennDog wrote: »
    This week I spoke to one of the helpful folk at Rogue. I was asking about an octet of KT-120s that my mono blocks require.
    Turns out, they had none but are expecting a shipment in a couple weeks . . . we shall see.

    Elsewhere, prices are reDick!

    Try thetubestore.com, not sure if the price is too high, or not:

    https://www.thetubestore.com/tung-sol-kt120?quantity=8&custcol2=1
    CD Players: Sony CDP-211; Sony DVP-S9000ES; Sony UDP-X800M2 (x2); Cambridge Audio CXC

    DACs: Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC III (x2); Denafrips Ares II (x2)

    Streamers: ROKU (x3); Bluesound Node 2i and Node N130 w/LHY LPS // Receivers: Yamaha RX-V775BT; Yamaha RX-V777

    Preamps: B&K Ref 50; B&K Ref 5 S2; Classe CP-800 MkII; Audio Research SP16L (soon)

    Amps: Niles SI-275; B&K ST125.7; B&K ST125.2; Classe CA-2300; Butler Audio TDB-5150

    Speakers: Boston Acoustics CR55; Focal Chorus 705v; Wharfedale Diamond 10.2; Monitor Audio Silver-1; Def Tech Mythos One (x4)/Mythos Three Center (x2)/Mythos Two pr.; Martin Logan Electromotion ESL; Legacy Audio Victoria/Silverscreen Center; Gallo Acoustics Reference 3.1; SVS SB-1000 Pro; REL HT-1003; B&W ASW610; HifiMan HE400i

    Turntable: Dual 721 Direct-Drive w/Audio Technica AT-VM95e cart

    Cables: Tripp-lite 14ga. PCs, Blue Jeans Cable ICs, Philips PXT1000 ICs; Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial ICs; Canare L-4E6S XLR ICs; Kimber Kable 8PR & 8TC speaker cables.
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,138
    Reminder for those who are trying every avenue to get what they need before everything explodes price wise...

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/190184/tube-supplier-and-cross-reference-thread/p1

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,622
    Tube prices are nuts now. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me until today that the tubes for my ARC LS28SE pre-amp are made in Russia. I called ARC today to get some like I have done before and they said they aren't selling them now, but their vendor thinks they may have a supply work around that might produce some in a few weeks. However, they said they really didn't know for sure. I ended paying a ridiculous amount for some "ARC select" tubes form Upscale audio, but at least they had some.
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    Yes. I lost a Gold Lion 300b tube this afternoon. Started checking around and it looks like they are twice as much as what I paid for them a year or two ago. Thankfully I had a couple of Electro - Harmonix 300b tubes.
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  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,373
    You could always buy the western electric 300b's
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  • Polkitup2
    Polkitup2 Posts: 1,622


    treitz3 wrote: »
    Reminder for those who are trying every avenue to get what they need before everything explodes price wise...

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/190184/tube-supplier-and-cross-reference-thread/p1

    Tom

    Might want to check the http://www.electron-tubes.com link. Seems the tubes and **** sites are mixed up - lol
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