Your All Time Favorite Preamplifiers?

[gionaz]

except for a few very rare valves, I don't see all this anxiety about finding valves that exist in quantity, the internet is big and full of precious glass!

 

[Atmasphere]

Someone figured out they could use a 12SN7 in our amps with a minor mod to the amps. 12SN7s are mostly unused and certainly not in production. In a period of about a year that tripled the price of the 12SN7s even though not that many people started using them.

So let's imagine that a circuit is designed to use a tube that's not in production. The tubes aren't used by many so they are inexpensive and plentiful. What does that look like in 10 or 20 years? One thing is certain: the tubes will be harder to find and more expensive. If they are cheap and easy to find, why not get a few for the drawer in the side table? Its not a serious investment in space or money; if you ever sell the equipment the tubes can go with it. Having been in business over 46 years to me this is just common sense. I remember when someone made a preamp based on Nuvistors about 34-40 years ago. Those tubes were rare back then and really hard to find now. Not the same situation of course but it does illustrate the point.