I posted this on another thread but thought it might be of interest for those interested in acquiring Chinese tubes. It is from a major and very reliable dealer of both Shuguangs and PSVanes. Forgive his transliteration from whatever his Chinese dialect to English, but it makes sense to inform your buying decisions. I have become quite the fan of both PSVanes and Shuguangs (at least their 6SN7s and KT-88s. As for sound they're superior to any of my best old-stock -- as to longevity only time will tell:
"Hello!
I am happy see your message.
Psvane and ShuGuang we talk about it now.
Psvane have three series. Price from low to high is:
HIFI,
Mark-II,
Re-edition Classics
ShuGuang have four series.Price from low to high is:
General Series,
Black Treasures,
Sound Of Nature
Re-edition Classics
ShuGuang earlier than Psvane was born.First they are same factory and same technical personnel.
Now Psvane has been out of ShuGuang and It's an independent brand.
You said KT88 and 6SN7.
ShuGuang's General Series KT88-98 have the most stable performance and price is not high.
6SN7 which one is better hard to say.
If Psvane and ShuGuang comparison of the same level is can't say better or bad.
Because every tube and every amp is different.They parameter is different.Personal preference also different.
But high level's material is better than general."
I see some US retailers starting to carry some of these tubes, but at twice the price you can get them shipped free directly from China (usually Hong Kong or Changsha). China Post hands off to USPS but all tubes I've received were very well packaged and arrived without any rattles. The Black Treasure Shuguangs and MK-II PSVanes in 6SN7 configuration are the best I've heard. The Black Treasures have a rather long burn-in time but the PSVanes are delightful right out of the box. Simple 6SN7 solution in the SP-14 is just to put the PSVs in the front holes and the Treasures in the splitter holes, and after about 50 hours you can swap them out.
"Hello!
I am happy see your message.
Psvane and ShuGuang we talk about it now.
Psvane have three series. Price from low to high is:
HIFI,
Mark-II,
Re-edition Classics
ShuGuang have four series.Price from low to high is:
General Series,
Black Treasures,
Sound Of Nature
Re-edition Classics
ShuGuang earlier than Psvane was born.First they are same factory and same technical personnel.
Now Psvane has been out of ShuGuang and It's an independent brand.
You said KT88 and 6SN7.
ShuGuang's General Series KT88-98 have the most stable performance and price is not high.
6SN7 which one is better hard to say.
If Psvane and ShuGuang comparison of the same level is can't say better or bad.
Because every tube and every amp is different.They parameter is different.Personal preference also different.
But high level's material is better than general."
I see some US retailers starting to carry some of these tubes, but at twice the price you can get them shipped free directly from China (usually Hong Kong or Changsha). China Post hands off to USPS but all tubes I've received were very well packaged and arrived without any rattles. The Black Treasure Shuguangs and MK-II PSVanes in 6SN7 configuration are the best I've heard. The Black Treasures have a rather long burn-in time but the PSVanes are delightful right out of the box. Simple 6SN7 solution in the SP-14 is just to put the PSVs in the front holes and the Treasures in the splitter holes, and after about 50 hours you can swap them out.