Replacing Chinese Valves, what make to look out for

[Paul-H]

Hi all

With Chinese made valve Amplifiers its often recommended that the Chinese Valves should be replaced with better made valves

Looking on the BayofEvil there are quite a few NOS valves from the likes of Mullard etc

Are there any particular makes of valves to lookout for or to avoid

Thanks for any input on this

Paul

[Jimbo]

I would buy certainly NOS if funds permit. Makes to look out for depends on which type of valve you are looking for but GE, RCA, Tesla,Sylvania, Telefunken, Mullard, Siemans, Amperex, Brimar, Tung Sol, Westinghouse all good.

Avoid new stuff especially from China unless you know its proven to be good. Best read reviews depending on which brand.

[mik_rik]

For o/p valves EL 34,84, you can do a lot worse than Russian ex military,6p14p & 6p3se in particular .They compare very favourably to the names mentioned and are much cheaper. The European nos types are now very expensive. Mick

[nthall]

NOS valves are usually the way to go. I don't know what valves you're looking for, but you'll probably find a lot of options. They'll all best the Chinese ones most likely, but I have heard some of the Chinese ones that surprised me.

Stay away from the ultra rare, super expensive ones. The rarity doesn't always mean they're better. The exceptions being 2a3s and 45s, but I don't think the Chinese have knocked those off yet.

A lot of them got rebranded, so the name on them doesn't always mean anything either. I usually use RCA, Sylvania, and GE, but that's mainly because I already have a bunch of them.

[Paul-H]

Thanks for the replies

The supplied Chinese valves are 6j1 but the supplier of the amp claim the following can be used

5654, 6AK5 and EF95

Not sure if that is a good sign or not, are all those valves basically the same or is it an indication the maker has been upto no good, had a look at the PCB and there are no hidden chips so I assume it's a genuine valve amp and not like some Chinese Amps that just use the valves for visual effect.

I can get Mullard EF95 NOS for £5 each on Fleabay

Thanks

Paul