Meet Archive Tubes

Since Ray Tubes launched, one topic has kept coming up: NOS. People love the sound of our current-production tubes so much that finding vintage tubes that measure up has become increasingly difficult. The community kept asking for NOS options that were reliable, properly tested, and backed by someone they trust, rather than auction listings, mystery sellers, and “as-is”.

Archive Tubes is our answer to that.

How the partnership began

Kunal first met the family behind Archive Tubes in Bombay. They’ve been in the electronics components business for more than 60 years, and they’ve worked with vacuum tubes since long before “audiophile” was its own category. For decades, tubes were simply one line item in a broader catalog of broadcast and industrial components.

Only recently did they consider opening their archive to audiophiles.

They invited Kunal to visit their facility, so he took a train with them across the state to see it firsthand. That trip changed everything. Inside his facility, Kunal found:

• A massive, well-preserved stock of vintage tubes—including rare, near-mythical variants

• Storage systems and catalogs built slowly over generations

• An Amplitrex testing setup operated by people who clearly knew what they were doing

• And, at one point, a tube literally taller than he is!

But what stood out more than the inventory was the family behind it: a close-knit group that’s serious about doing things the right way, with one generation preserving something valuable so the next could continue the work. They aren’t resellers who just stumbled into tubes. They were here when tubes were a lynchpin of electronics. 

Why Archive Tubes matters

The community has been clear:

• True NOS has become harder to trust

• Quality varies wildly

• Many sellers don’t test, don’t match, and don’t warranty

• And great tubes have become nearly impossible to source in real volume

Archive Tubes exists to connect their deep tube archive with the audiophile world.

How we handle quality

Every tube goes through a process we trust:

• Visual verification of plate structure, getters, bases, and mica

• Testing for emissions, noise, gas, and microphonics

• Pair and quad matching

• Rejection of anything that doesn’t meet our internal standards

Everything sold through Archive Tubes is backed by our warranty and support. If something isn’t right, we’ll fix it.

What’s next

We’ll introduce inventory gradually, starting with the most requested types and expanding deeper into the archive over time. If you’re looking for something specific, let us know. There’s a good chance it’s sitting on a shelf, labeled, tested, and ready.