Price is only because I had to enter something in that box, please ignore.This is real dilemma for me, and I don't want to mislead anyone regarding the condition of these new, never used, tubes. I have a quad of Sovtek 300B tubes that have remained unused for seven or eight years now - maybe longer. The operating condition of some of these tubes is suspect. I know one of them works, but cannot testify that the others are operating properly. These tubes were purchased directly from Israel Blume, the owner of Coincident Technology Speakers in Canada. I have never dealt with a nicer man in high end audio. I'm trying to remember why I had to order them from Canada, but I think, at the time, that was the only source for them in North America. They are probably the fourth quad that he sent because the 300B tubes arrived "defective" 3 times previously and were returned for a new shipment. The problem with the tubes was a loud crackling, sputtering, noise on warmup when I turned on my Cary SEI integrated amp. The amp was immediately shut off when this occurred and the tubes were removed. Mr. Blume was called and the tubes were returned for a new set. One tube was returned because it appeared to have "runaway bias". Returning/sending tubes 3 or 4 times from CT to Canada was exasperating for both of us, but Mr. Blume was never anything but congenial, helpful, and concerned to find out what was going on. When sent to me, the tubes were boxed, wrapped in bubble wrap individually, and surrounded by tons of foam peanuts in an oversized box. It's hard to believe that the tubes were so delicate that they were damaged in shipping on 3 or 4 separate occasions. He always tested them in his amp before he sent them and they tested perfectly at his end. Were the Sovteks really that fragile that they couldn't survive the trip from Canada to CT? Were the tubes being being destroyed by 10 foot falls off conveyor belts at the shipping sites? I can't remember if he re-tested the tubes when returned, but there was never a question regarding my experience with the tubes, or a question regasrding my integrity. He knew my frsutration was sincere, and we went from there. So... was something else going on? Could there have been a problem at my end... was the Cary SEI misleading me regarding the condition of these 300B's? Was it possible that my Cary SEI lacked muting circuitry on warmup, and that any 300B's that needed to spit, sputter, crackle, vomit (you get the idea) before they stabilized would be exposed? Would this warmup period be completely masked by other amps that had a muting circuit with a long warmup delay? The OEM stock 300B tubes in the SEI made no audible noises on turn on. These were well broken-in tubes. Where do I go from here? Obviously, the primary goal is to find out the actual condition of these tubes before I go any further. Is there anyone who lives in CT (New Haven area, preferably) who has the equipment to test power output tubes, or knows someone who might be able to do this for me? I would pay for someone's time. I used to be a member of "The CT Audio Society" some years ago. Is that group still around? There were a lot of "tuboholics" in that group who built some impressive amps. Is there a high end audio store in CT that has a service department with the test equipment to check these tubes? Any suggestions, advice, contacts, etc. would be much appreciated. Thank you. Rich
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