NOS Tubes

NOS Tubes – How to instantly improve your Chinese Tube Amplifier

Buy Upgrade NOS Tubes by Amplifier here or Tel: 01992 732 269

If you own a Nobsound, Fatman, Douk, Little Dot or Little Bear Amplifier, to name just a few, you will see that they all come with Chinese stock Vacuum Tubes.

Did you know that the Chinese Tubes such as the 6N1, 6N2, 6J1, 6N6 etc. are all cheap copies of the tube equivalent original Russian Military Spec NOS Vacuum Tubes that were far superior in quality? Sure there are European and USA tubes with ‘similar’ characteristics, but they are NOT direct equivalents. This means they may not perform well or might even damage your amplifier.

In fact, they even named such vacuum tubes after the superb USSR Originals, simply by dropping the ‘P’ :

6J1 = 6J1P

6N1 = 6N1P

6N6 = 6N6P etc., etc.

Because of financial and practical reasons, your Chinese amp is supplied with very poor Vacuum Tubes. But they do not get the best out of the often otherwise very good pre-amps and amplifiers. They are generally unreliable with poor sound quality and limited longevity. Sourcing the rare NOS Tubes from 40 or 50-year-old Military Stock would be expensive and inconsistent for a large Manufacturer. The answer is to supply current production vacuum valves at a fraction of the cost.

Why are NOS Tubes so much Better?

But there are reasons apart from rarity alone why modern Chinese Vacuum Tubes are inferior. And why Russian NOS Vacuum Tubes are far better. One is that the USSR Military demanded extremely tight specifications and utmost reliability with no cost restraints. This is obvious when one considers that the vacuum tubes would have been employed in highly sophisticated equipment. For instance intelligence operations, offensives etc. that may affect lives if it were to breakdown or malfunction.

Another is that USSR vintage NOS Vacuum Tubes contain high percentages of expensive or rare earth metals such as Caesium, yttrium, europium, Gold for the grid or Barium for the ‘Getter’.

Certain earth metals reproduce even Harmonics in addition to odd Harmonics which results in the full organic highly detailed and tuneful ‘Classic Valve’ sound. Modern tubes, except the exotic ‘High End’ ones costing a small fortune, cannot achieve this sound.

We at AudioZomba have been sourcing and testing the Russian Originals for years. We can offer direct replacement upgrades for many modern amplifiers. Simplicity and guaranteed for your peace of mind. Choose from Standard, Premium or Elite versions to suit your budget. They also come with free anti-Vibration silicon tube dampers which near eliminate micro-phonic distortion, often present in double triode designs.

Buy Upgrade Vacuum Tubes by Amplifier here or Tel: 01992 732 269 for Sales!