Hi - You are making a point to something I was not saying.
And there are a lot of people who buy corvettes and then get cheaper tires rather than the most expensive ones when it comes time for new tires.
I just tried the new Psvane Horizon in the Aries-Cerat Genus vs. ELROG's
- Thread starter Synaxis
- Start date
And there are a lot of people who buy corvettes and then get cheaper tires rather than the most expensive ones when it comes time for new tires.
Those Elrogs…….$900 per tube…….. know they are excellent but if they do cost approximately $36 to produce as that one expert quoted in audio asylum then even with massive advertising it’s still a crazy markup. If Psvane could take a little more care and make an equivalent for around $100 the world I feel would be knocking down their door!
I recommend you ask "that one expert quoted in audio asylum" to make them & sell them for $100 - then make a living doing so.
I have been asking the same question lately because the problem with tubes and NOS tubes vs new PSVANE tubes or other modern tubes is that people have a vested interest in keeping their NOS tubes valued very highly - dealers especially.
If a guy is sitting on 10 NOS WE tubes valued at $4,000 a pop, and let's say PSVANE comes out with a tube that is as good or better for $300, then that would be a real tough admission for the guy/dealer sitting on those NOS tubes. If word got around and other people admitted the same things, then those $4000 tubes would drop to $400.
And here's the thing - when I have asked this question about a given PSVANE tube, I am not getting someone with direct experience. They are just taking it as a given that the NOS tube must be better because they read it on a forum or from owners of said $4,000 tube. And some of them may do a "comparison" but of course their $4k tube is best because man they're going to want to get rid of the buggers. How will you sell your $4k tube if you just admitted that a $300 tube sounds better? So no - you may admit that once you get rid of all the $4k tubes.
On YouTube, I watched a fellow buy some PSVANE KT88s and preamp tubes, and he wound up admitting that they trounced all of his NOS Mullards.
Now, people might say they are less reliable, but when you are paying 1/10th the price, it may be worth the risk. Maybe the $4k tube lasts 24,000 hours, and the 1/10th the price Chinese tube that sounds just as good (setting aside that previously mentioned bias) lasts 8000 hours. Well, 3 sets of these are still 3/10ths the price.
Like most things, each person has to decide on their risk tolerance - it's not like an amp or speaker that breaks - you can get it repaired - when the tube blows up, it's gone. 100% of your money is poof. With a car, you buy a warranty to protect your investment, or you decide to keep the money aside and use it for the repair down the line that may not come. You have to decide what sort of risk you're willing to take. And that $4k tube can go poof at any time.
Of course, the other factor is how much money you can lose and not be bothered. I watch a Watch YouTube channel, and he advises that you should only buy a watch you can afford to lose or have stolen and not be bothered - if you are spending $10k on a Rolex and you only make $50k a year, you might be devastated if it gets stolen, breaks, etc. If you buy a nice $600 Tissot that is Swiss-made made etc, you are still getting a very good quality watch, but if it gets stolen or breaks - yeah it will suck but it's not the end of the world.
There are, of course, many people, likely on this forum, who can afford to buy a $10,000 Rolex every single day and wear it once and put it in a closet never to be seen again. So a $4,000 tube - meh - why wouldn't you buy a dozen?
Very well said, I can’t find anything to disagree with you. Logical, to a “T”.
Your economic theory is genuinely funny.
A new CO6 corvette sells for approx $120k & a 1953 corvette sells for approx $370k.
By any performance benchmark the new corvette is better - BUT - that will not change the price for a 1953 corvette for a myriad of reasons other than pure economics.
The WE tube "value" is based on other factors including availability - collectability - desirability & unlike the corvette example is "said" to still to be the better performer.
Don't hold your breath waiting for the "PSVANE CHANGER"...
Yes, what you say makes a lot of sense, especially with cars, but I think with the car example, there is a huge Nostalgia factor. Sure, a modern Toyota Camry V6 will blow away a 1957 Mustang - in pretty EVERY parameter, including what the Mustang was built to do - muscle. Camry is far, FAR safer, better handling, faster, more comfortable, and better in every way really.
But it doesn't FEEL like a 1957 Mustang, and it doesn't LOOK like a 1957 Mustang or sound like a 1957 Mustang. In other words, classic cars have a lot of these "intangibles."
I don't really feel any of these touchy-feelys with glorified lightbulbs. But I hadn't considered that other people would be Nostalgic about tubes and love their look or the way they light up. But of course, people do like antiques and place premiums on anything that is old - a part of one's past and heritage.
Sound quality is subjective, so I won't delve into that aspect. As I noted, several reviewers have preferred PSVANE to classic, revered, and more expensive NOS Mullards, so it's plausible that someone will prefer their 211 or 300B down the line.
Lastly, I used to watch a TV Show called the Antiques Road Show - and they often noted that some piece went way way up in value over the years - then they ran a show 20 years later to see how those values held up - many came crashing back down as young people do not have the same interests that their parents had - if I recall - Fine China and silver ware, doll collections, and certain artists dropped in value like 95%.
Granted, audiophiles do seem to be rather high on the OCD/Autism spectrum, so that will likely help prop up values well into the future.
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |