"matched" set of 6550s from tubedepot

[howardpowered]

[img]http://i1064.photobucket.com/album ... .jpg[/img]

Just got these today & maybe it's just me, but I expect my tubes to be generally the same size. It's my first dealing with tubedepot, anybody else get crap like this from them?

[54strat]

I've ordered from Tube Depot a number of times, and not had any problems dealing with them even the one time I had a problem. I had a Winged C in a pair of EL34's that red plated as soon as I fired them up and had taken the usual precautions of turning the bias all the way down and warming them up on standby, etc. Have you contacted Tube Depot yet about this? Brian in sales (sales@tubedepot.com) will fix it if you're not happy. I've swapped lots of e-mail with Rob their tech guy too, the guy who does their "How to" videos. He's super nice and helpful.

Though they may be "matched" electrically, I would not be pleased with a pair so physically mismatched, especially when spending extra money for Winged C instead of JJ or something else. That's just weird.

[howardpowered]

Thanks for confirming I'm not being completely unreasonable in my expectation of better dimensional stability than these display. I'm not a tube snob and have been living with a JJ that went microphonic in the last few months while I've been tweaking things.

Unfortunately, tube depot was less than apologetic, asserting I must have a misunderstanding b/c their matching pertains only e-test. The implication being the tubes are fine, not weird at all. I don't know how functional they are and don't care to find out b/c they look stupid as hell together.

After a couple of emails with somebody over there named Alan, all I ended up with is a promise for a refund upon their receipt of the tubes. So, as of today, I'm out $99 + $18 shipping to and from my place. Assuming they make good on the refund, I had to pay shipping for a lesson on who not to deal with. Sadly, I picked Tube Depot over The TubeStore b/c I liked the idea of buying from a domestic source, but of course there's bad and good to be found within any arbitray boundary.

[hdahs]

What exactly is "dimensional stability"? I can't think of a tube vendor who guarantees, that its matched tubes are matched in physical dimensions as well. It's your money so you are entitled to be picky about what you choose. But I work as a repair tech, and cannot count how many times I have seen matched duets of tube that were not the same size physically. It happens. The current draw match is what matters, and is something Tube Depot has never missed on, in my experience. Something which the Tube Store cannot lay claim to, unless being within 10-12 ma is what they consider "matched". Like the previous poster, I have never had anything but positive experiences with Tube Depot both in product and customer service. I guess we all have different standards.

[howardpowered]

I just mean these two together evidence either less mfg process control (ie. a lack of stability) or binning than I expected based on my never having noticed such a difference before in all the amps I've examined. As I don't make or sell tubes, I have no idea what dimensional spread there is, but it's notable that you have seen significant differences in tube sizes generally.

They also don't gaurantee the glass is clear, but how odd would it be to get one frosted? The lack of a gaurantee doesn't mean one should expect something you've never seen before.

you can say etest is all that matters till the cows come home and it will still be human nature to prefer things level, smooth, symmetrical...you know, all that ie stuff that "doesn't matter" and only Apple does well.

I am picky, so these will be back on tubdepot's shelf next week, if you want them.

Thanks for the heads up on tubestore, Ill try AES.

[54strat]

I have also had good luck with Amplified Parts...fast, well packed, and well matched. Ordered some pre-amp tubes from Amplified Parts, then got some of the new JJ 6CA7's from them last year that I am still using. I wanted to check them out and Tube Depot did not have the new 6CA7's for a long time after they came out.
I understand that even tubes of the same type, brand and batch may not always be EXACTLY the same size...but with SED's general reputation as being better than New Sensor or JJ products and SED's higher cost, it's still weird to wind up with a pair that are THAT different. Those two in your pic look like they are from different runs.

[54strat]

I'm still surprized at Tube Depot's response. Yes they are "matched" and will probably sound/work fine. Since there is an issue, no matter how slight THEY feel it may be, they should still exchange them since you've got to pay the shipping to send them back.

[AustinTx]

I'm still surprized at Tube Depot's response. Yes they are "matched" and will probably sound/work fine. Since there is an issue, no matter how slight THEY feel it may be, they should still exchange them since you've got to pay the shipping to send them back.

Not defending TD...just letting you know about my experiences, if you are not happy, they need to fix it, pronto.
TD has always been great with customer service, have ordered many things in the past and had to return a few
due to shipping damage. I know it is a hassle....send them a picture, give them a call and talk to someone else,
bet they will take care of you quickly.

Also..you might want to look into mismatching tubes, Terry Kilgore aka...Tube Tramp..has some good info posted,
seems pretty valid from my own experimentations. (anybody remember buying tubes out of a drug store tube tester?)

[hdahs]

I'm still surprized at Tube Depot's response. Yes they are "matched" and will probably sound/work fine. Since there is an issue, no matter how slight THEY feel it may be, they should still exchange them since you've got to pay the shipping to send them back.

If they are willing to refund the purchase price, it would stand to reason that they would be happy to exchange the tubes and cover the shipping of the replacement pair back to the customer. This allows them to keep the sale, and keep the customer happy. Return shipping from the customer to the vendor is the responsibility of the customer, with rare exception.

Like I said earlier, it is his money, and he has the right to be picky about what he spends it on. And they, as a company, when it comes down to what is essentially a cosmetic issue, have to draw a line as to what is and isn't an issue, i.e. 1/16" height difference between tubes is acceptable but 1/8" isn't, or how much of a blem in the tube screenprint is acceptable. They agreed to take the tubes back and refund his money. I'm not sure what else could be expected of them. This reminds me of Analogman's business motto: We will bend over backwards for our customers, just not forward.

There are plenty of tube vendors out there and most do a great job. AES, Doug's Tubes, KCA, Tube Depot are all great company's to deal with. It's like finding a good mechanic. Once you find one that fits and you trust, you stick with them.

[DaveMcLain]

I'd say that if they fit your tube retainers ok, bias up reasonably close and sound good they will be fine. What does it matter?

[zrAC/DC]

Tube Depot has been really good to me. The first set of tubes I bought from them were about 12ma difference in my amp so I contacted them sent them back and got replacements right away.

[demonufo]

It is being picky, but...


It would bug the sh!t out of me too. Not just because of the looks of the pair together, but because they are obviously both from completely different batches, and may well have very different specs and parameters other than what TubeDepot measure for their matching process. Tubes don't just vary in size like that in the same batch. And if they do, then quality control should have their arse kicked.

I'd pass, too. (Even if there is the possibility that they match perfectly in all measurable parameters, vacuum, materials etc.)

[ezs]

I no longer will by Shit from the Tube Dippo. I had a friend order some stuff and I was going to tune up the amp. Paid for 3 matched 12AX7's wich did not match even close on my gear, out of 6 F&T caps 1 was internally shorted. These guys SUCK ASS! Ive ordered from them around 5 years but this was BS.

[chrisom]

Tube Despot?

[howardpowered]

As an update, upon them getting my returned tubes Tube depot did offer to send me the most physically matched pair they had, but Ialready had some from AES on the way so tube depot refunded the purchase price per my request. The winged cs I got from AES also having noticably different heights, though significantly less than those originally shipped by tube depot. Since others' responses to my original post moderated my OCD a bit, I decided these were close enough so I put them in and they biased up perfectly and sound very good. Thanks y'all.