Yikes - Audio Research has no tubes for sale. 😳
 

When I've talked to them before, Audio Research has said they always try to keep a good supply of tubes on hand, but I called them this morning (April 11) and they said they have zero tubes for sale at the moment due to the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Something to keep in mind if you're getting near replacement hours.

Not surprised. Excluding the Russian/Ukraine conflict, almost everything in the audio industry is hard to come by. I hate to say this but I don’t think it will change anytime soon(think year plus). Supply chain issues are a massive problem.

A lot of sellers with tubes are putting the brakes on tube sales to avoid horders and speculators buying up their stock. They need their stock for sales of new tube gear but also to retube owners of their gear. The rub is how to sell to owners without opening the gates to speculators. I imagine they will do this slowly and on a case basis, ie if you need the tubes now for their gear and requesting just that amount.

ARC has strict QC for tubes and tube matching and I suspect they prefer no aftermarket supply over a loosening of standards for tubes going into production components.

I got a backup quad of KT150s for my ARC Ref 160s right after the conflict started. I had a 6H30 develop a popping… and was able to buy a pair from TheTube Store. ARC said there are more on the way but it may be a few weeks.