We are a small midwestern business founded by a husband and wife team (Tyler and Chelsea). After collecting vacuum tubes and tube related gear for more than a decade as a way of supporting our hi-fi audio hobby, we have decided to take it to the next level.

 

Tyler’s audio interests began more than 30 years ago where most cool guys in the ’80s started—solid state stereo systems built to pump thousands of watts into booming subwoofers. But unlike most cool guys, he was interested in building systems that actually sounded better, not just bigger. That’s the interest that led him from solid state to tube audio. The latest amplifier he built was a whopping 0.75 watt of sweet tube sound.

 

This website combines Tyler’s tube audio expertise with Chelsea’s e-commerce experience. Starting this small business is our response to the challenges of this economy. We hope to gain enough momentum to be able to hire some folks in our neighborhood who are looking for work. We also hope you’ll enjoy the service and the prices we are able to offer with our low-overhead business model.

Selling vacuum tubes in a digital world
tctubes.com featured on Minnesota Public Radio's website

Customer Comments

It was a pleasure doing business with Tyler and Chelsea, their tube site and knowledge rates a 10/10. Chelsea does a fantastic job packaging the tubes with care and fast shipping to Canada. This was my third time purchasing extra tubes for my '67 Fender Princeton amp, Leo Fender would be proud to hear the orig real sound. MEGA thanks for your devoted time!
-- Fred, Ontario, Canada, 11/30/17

Thanks. Put the tube into my DAC last night, very impressed with the sound. Also, your packaging insured the tube arrived in good condition.
-- Irving, San Francisco, 3/15/17

The Ei 12AX7 tubes arrived earlier this week and I have just plugged them in. Awesome! they sound amazing, can't believe how much improvement both sets have made to the amp. Power tubes next!
-- Alex, Australia, 1/26/17

The amp sounds great. My wife is thrilled.
-- Troy, St. Paul, 1/24/17

I am very satisfied, the packaging is perfect.
-- Alain, France, 12/2/16

Just a note to say I'm very happy with the matched E182cc's that arrived in August. They are used as drivers for GM70's. Your service is very good and the packaging excellent. It's encouraging to see paper instead of plastic. I'll be purchasing from you again.
-- Mark, Switzerland, 10/27/16

I wanted to thank you once more, for the very good communication, and very good service, the tubes are also as described, and very well packaged. They are sounding very good, and are a definitive upgrade above the original ones.... Once more 5 stars.
-- Francisco, The Netherlands, 10/12/16

Just wanted to thank you for being a key part of our getting a Stromberg-Carlson 1960s stereo tube amp up and running again. Your testing identified exactly what needed to be replaced and what was still ok. Sounds great now driving a pair of Klipsch SB 2 speakers with a mere 12 watts /channel.
-- John, North Carolina, 9/3/16

Bien reçu la GE 6L6GC quad en parfait état, avec un délai de livraison rapide, merci et à bientot pour d'autres achats. [Received the GE 6L6GC quad in perfect condition, with a fast delivery, thank you and see you soon for other purchases.]
-- Alain, France, 5/23/16

The Mazda 6V6GT tubes are great and really improved the sound of my Decware amp. I just got a chance to put them in this morning and have been enjoying the last two hours of smooth sounding music. Very clean product and in impeccable condition. Looking forward to future purchases.
-- Chuck, Virginia, 5/5/16

Another Awesome 6dj8~ 6922 tube!! Thanks for the care taken to select and test these Wonderful gems for us. My experience here just keeps getting better and better..:)
-- Michael, Arvada, CO, 4/10/16

Great packaging, great service and great tubes. I really like the test results, too. I'll be back!
-- Kelson, Nashville, 3/12/16

Thank you for the lovely opt's. They really work well and are also good looking.
-- Ian, South Africa, 3/2/16

Just plugged in the RCA 6SN7GTB and the Thomas-CSF 6080WA tubes into my Dark Voice 336SE headamp, and oh my, what a fit!
-- Joachim, Missouri, 1/6/16

Thanks for your care in the matching!
-- Jay, Minnesota, 11/24/15

Just a quick note to say how delighted I am with the matched pair of 1960 Westinghouse 12AU7A you sent. Superb tubes and test results and well packed. Best wishes from the UK.
-- Paul, London, 11/9/15

Thanks for the tip on biasing - and wanted to say how pleased I am with the shipping and the tubes themselves. Look very nice and like a nicely matched set !!!
-- Pete, San Diego, 9/17/15

Thank you Tyler and Chelsea for the recent shipment of Mullard 12AX7 (Hammond Label) preamp tubes. They sound fantastic in my Suhr Badger 18, and are of high quality. I know that I can count on you for an honest analysis of products and will continue to purchase from a company that I can trust.
-- BJ, Illinois, 9/10/15

Thanks for the tubes Tyler & Chelsea !!! Got here super fast ~ sounding nice.
-- Steve, Australia, 8/19/15

I just had to send a message and say thank you. I just got my new tube today. It sounds amazing. My 1959 Motorola is brought back to life. Wow. I always thought it sounded great, but this is astounding. Hello David Bowie!
-- Emily Lucas, Alaska, 8/18/15

Just a note to let you know that the last batch of tubes ("Winged C" 6AS7G) were all sweet dead quiet and sounding awesome....I just wanted to let you know I am extremely satisfied with your stock of these tubes and your customer service as well.
-- Bill, Pennsylvania, 8/5/15

I wanted to say thank you for the very prompt service. I received my tubes packaged very securely. I quickly put one in and sounds great. I will shop with you again. Thanks.
-- Shay, Minnesota, 7/30/15

Just to let you know i received the telefunken tubes and they are in good condition. Thanks....Immediately, the thing I notice was the sound stage has expended tremendously... Bass is sweet and just great..The chinese Guqin now sound so real... I really get my DREAM match... Mullard 12AU7 and Telefunken 12AX7...Double thanks
-- Jeffrey, Malaysia, 7/25/15

Hi. Received the 2 tubes today. Thank you for great service.
-- Bernadette, Australia, 7/23/15

GOT MY TUBES AND AS USUAL YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB!!!!! I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE NOT PICKING UP ON THESE Ei TUBES they are great. In my opinion. HIDDEN TREASURES.
--Duane, Illinois, 6/26/15

Thank You Tyler and Chelsea, I have received the set of KT120 which were specially selected to suite my Audio Research REF210. They worked like a charm in my modified REF210.
--Huy, Australia, 6/4/15

I received the tubes in the mail, intact and in good working order. Thanks for the great sounding tubes and for your careful packaging and handling of them for their long journey.
-- Rosemary, Ontario, 4/9/15

Received your beautifully packed shipment of matched 6V6 tubes last week. Put them in my tweed Fender Deluxe today. Perfect in every way. After dealing with with less than professional tube folks, you guys are my heroes. I'll be stocking up on 6V6's. I appreciate your care in shipping and attention to detail.
-- Mike, Louisiana, 3/30/15

Very happy with my purchase of the Lafayette LA-310 power amplifier. Looks and sounds wonderful; a museum-quality unit that's also a reliable daily driver!
-- Steve, Missouri, 3/26/15

I just wanted to thank you guys for all the great tubes I purchased recently. Between the matched sets of input and power tubes, the system sounds Great! My wife says it sounds like we made a 10k upgrade.
-- Douglas, Virginia, 3/22/15

The replacement Siemens triple mica 1966 12AT7 was unexpected. I am sure more than 60 days had elapsed since I made the purchase of a pair and one failed. I sent it back not expecting to get a replacement but to my surprise and delight you did just that. No questions asked. I am a delighted client and will return for more.
-- Rick Brown, Hi Fi One, California, 2/9/15

I just wanted to say thank you for great service and fast shipping of my tubes. I can rely on folks like you to get the real deal as opposed to taking a risk on e-bay.
-- Tim, Illinois, 2/4/15

Hello TC, got my tubes. Thank you very much! Nice packaging. It shows that you care for the customer as the way they are shipped. I have had some that were bad, and you wonder if they are going to work. You all take care.
-- Duane, Illinois, 1/28/15

Got my shipment on Saturday, installed them on Sunday and have been grinning ever since…..I will keep and share your site info with my fellow musicians that appreciate tube amps.
-- Reyn, Georgia, 12/16/14

Just a note to thank you for the EH 6ca7 quad! These are terrific sounding tubes! They all biased within 2ma of each other and are very stable.
-- Stephen, Nebraska, 12/2/14

I got the Gold Lion tubes yesterday, played music for 4 hours with stereo image dead center...I am now a very happy customer and delighted audiophile! Thank you very much Tyler and Chelsea for the nicely matched Gold Lion tubes.
-- Bruno, Canada, 10/22/14

I received the tube in good condition, it is playing at this very moment, thank you very much.
-- Jan, The Netherlands, 9/4/14
 
Everything arrived safely and in perfect condition. Thank you again for your support.
-- Carlos, Spain, 9/2/14

I received the tubes today. I like how you have clearly marked on the tube boxes all details. I wish all sellers did that. Excellent work. I hope to do business with you again.
-- Peter, Australia, 8/6/14

Hello, thanks, the tubes arrived very good.
-- Andrés, Chile, 8/5/14

Just wanted to say how pleased I am with the IEC Mullard ax7 I recently purchased. It was my first Mullard and wow does it ever live up to the legendary hype! I am spoiled forever! Thanks!
-- Paul, New York, 8/3/14

Hi, I just read your page: "Interpreting Amplitrex AT1000 tube tester results", and wanted to thank you for such an excellent informative piece! Superb and so helpful.
-- Keith, UK, 7/24/14

Hi Chelsea, tubes arrived, all ok. very good , many thanks and cheers from Italy in particular from Modena, city of motors (Ferrari, Maserati, Zonda and very near to Lamborghini).
-- Augusto, Itlay, 7/17/14

Your comparison of various results for the EL34 with the Amplitrex and 3 other classic testers, is the best example I've seen about weak emissions not showing up on a transconductance tester. I've been testing a few thousand tubes with two TV7, a 752A, and a Sencore Mighty Mite IV. I have to use the Sencore just to make sure the tubes will actually work. Otherwise, I'll send out "matched" tubes that aren't even close for a real amp. The Sencore does a good job of showing dead cathodes. My 752a has the cathode bias resistor option on it, so I wired in a meter. It's been amazing to see the wide ranges of cathode emissions when testing tubes on that one, and it doesn't always correlate to transconductance.
-- Philip, USA

Just want to say the tube did arrive today and is already playing.... Impressive!
-- Harald, The Netherlands, 7/3/14

I ordered a quad of Sylvania 6SN7GTB black plates from you earlier this month. I installed them in my Mystere ia21 integrated stereo amp, replacing the OEM tubes. It didn't take long for them to sweeten up the sound. While the highs are about the same, the lows really strengthened - and tightened up a bit as well. After running them about 20 hours now, they've noticeably improved the sound all-around. My system has never sounded better!
-- Mike, Wisconsin, 6/16/14

People half a world apart have to have a lot of trust when doing business, or somebody will get messed around. Thanks that I can and do trust you guys, and for the quality tubes you send me.
-- Wayne, Thailand, 5/28/14

Just wanted to let you know that I have received the tubes, installed them - and they sound awesome!! Thanks you so much for designating their locations! Been a real pleasure working with you and I sure appreciate your services!
-- Peter, Virginia, 3/7/14

I wanted to comment on the recent shipment I received from you folks. I rarely correspond concerning good service because I expect it. It's only when something goes wrong do I feel the need to contact a vendor. The shipment I received yesterday though caught me a little off guard. It was obvious from the moment I opened it that someone had taken great care to package it. The time spent doing it right and carefully was impressive. I order from other tube vendors and they do a respectable job, but this was more than I expected.
-- James, North Carolina, 1/14/14

Just received my Tung-Sol 56 triode tubes and couldn't be happier with the quality of the tubes and the terrific service.
-- Mark, Washington, 1/5/14

I have just recieved the tubes safe and sound at home with no probem at all. I 've tried them already and after they warm up they start sounding like liquid cristal, clear, full and sweet. I'm amazed of how well you do your work so definitely I'm 100% like this :) and like this :o = wow.  I know it is too early but merry christmas and keep on rocking. Cheers.
-- Chess, Spain, 11/15/13