High Quality Tube Sockets

I recently had some problems with two of my tube amps, and both problems were related to my tube sockets loosening up and making poor contact with one of more tube pins (probably caused by the amount of tube-swapping I have recently been doing).

I did the thing (re-tension) where I bent the socket connectors inward using a very tiny jewelers screwdriver to tighten them up, and that's resolved the problem for the most part, but I'd rather not worry about it. I started looking for higher quality tube sockets, both for the Octal tubes, and for the 9-pin tubes on my non-Dynaco (non-PCB mount) amp. I'm thinking about replacing all of my tube sockets.

This is what I ordered. Has anybody had any experience with these?

I've had some requests wanting to know where I found these. eBay. Here is a link.

Link to Tube Sockets

I know that Bob likes the darker color sockets for authenticity, and I just realized that that is an option:

Updated Link to Tube Sockets

Here is a link to some comments Bob had recently about tube sockets:

Bob Latino comments on tube sockets

I used the micanol tube sockets from Dynakitparts. The ones with the "D" shaped hole. They are brown, but on the site they look kinda red. They grip very well and so far seem to stand up. The soldering tabs on the bottom seem to be a little heavier than the original sockets. They're not dark colored like the originals,but I'm not too concerned about originality, more about sound.
Those look like some really nice sockets you picked up, albiet a little on the spendy side for me They do look well made, though. Let us know how they work for you?

Those look like PC board mounted sockets (no solder lugs) and appear to be high quality. I have been building a "home brew" tube guitar amplifier and have NOT found any tube sockets I really like much. For my ST-70, I'm using the sockets Bob provided with the kit and, so far, they have worked fine. Let us know how these work out in your amp.

Those look like they will grip your tubes tightly... is that what you want? I would test the insert/deinsert force before soldering them in place. I prefer a socket that gives good electrical contact with minimal mechanical pressure. The last amp I had with ceramic sockets held onto octal tubes too securely--making it hard to get the tubes out without lots of nerve-wracking wobbling and wiggling. If you can reach the octal base easily no worries... but if you use 300B or KT-88 it can be hard to reach the base and you end up pulling the tubes up by the envelope not good. With through-hole mounted sockets (e.g. VTL) damaging the PCB when the sockets are tight is a concern.
...j