No More Russian Tube Imports
 

I got this e-mail from Electro-Harmonix yesterday.
_____SNIP__________________
Attention All EHX Tube Customers

Yesterday, Russia imposed a ban on the export of some 200 goods in response to the sanctions imposed on it over the current conflict in Ukraine.
We have confirmed that the ban applies to our seven brands of Russian tubes. Currently, the ban is set to remain in effect until the end of the calendar year.
Given this export ban, we will not be receiving any further tube inventory for these brands.
A myriad of pressures — including continued strains on the supply chain, escalating internal expenses, mounting inflation, and an ever-evolving legal landscape (particularly in light of the Ukraine conflict) — have created a very fluid and ambiguous environment.
Until we can properly assess the impact of these factors, we will not honor any new orders or ship any more Russian tubes on back order.

Rock & Roll,
Mike Matthews
Founder & President

Fair enough. It explains why the prices skyrocketed overnight.

Looks like the Slovak Republic is the source now. Anyone know what the Tele KT88's sound like?

I'm guessing JJ and the Chinese suppliers are going to get swamped now.

For us hobbyists, we can buy used tubes or NOS or whatever we can find in small quantities.

For the manufacturers needing thousands of tubes a month it is going to be a big challenge going forward.

Im guessing a number of manufacturers will be suspending production of their tube gear until further notice.

If you don't have spare tubes now is the time to get them.

Here is some info on how one manufacturer is handling the situation. Apologize in advance for the link to another site but in this case I think it is justified for information sharing purposes. Many AA denizens have tube gear on order or are planning on ordering tube gear presently.


https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schi...#post-16859577

That was a great read and very appropriate to post here. I think he's put the whole situation in its proper context.

I’m glad I am super stocked on Gold Lions. :)

Me too. And a bunch of SED winged =C= as well.

With three 2301’s and a 275 I’ll need them.

If all manufacturers were as transparent as Jason and Mike, the audio world would be a better place. One thing I found surprising was their difficulty in sourcing Chinese tubes. They will definitely need to explore that further, as will all audio manufacturers.