Richard at Leeds Radio here in NYC is very, very good. He's a real, knowledgeable technician with high standards, knows what test numbers should look like, and always sells the good stuff.
He does most of his selling via an Etsy store nowadays, and only lists a small fraction of his inventory. But if you contact him via his website with what you're looking for, there's a very good chance he will have it in his stock.
I've had decent luck with Viva Tubes, but only used them once or twice.
Very often I'm using eBay, but only under certain limited circumstances. Sellers who list specific test numbers and disclose the make and model of their tube tester are often worth taking the risk, if you know enough to properly interpret those numbers.
Sellers who list vague test numbers (in percentages) and/or use emissions testers (or who list no numbers at all) are a hard pass, unless it's something very specific at a very good price and worth taking a risk. Even if they claim "NOS/NIB."
In the year 2020 there's no way to really tell that a tube is truly NOS, even if it's new in box... except in certain rare circumstances (old Telefunken tubes with the box still sealed in cellophane, for instance)
January 12, 2006, 03:31:32 PM