chops Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 I already have my share of EL34s and 6CA7s. Now I'm looking for a quad of KT88s or 6550s, mostly KT88s though. What would be expected of the KT88s or 6550s as far as differences in sound between the two of them and between them and the EL34/6CA7 output tubes? The extra power I don't care about, but the sonics I am very interested in. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Pretty rough to answer it really is circuit dependant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted July 10, 2004 Author Share Posted July 10, 2004 That's beside the point. I'm not looking for a direct, exact answer, just a ballpark figure so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted July 10, 2004 Author Share Posted July 10, 2004 What do you all think about Svetlana tubes? I'm going to be getting a quad of the KT88SV's, and I just wanted to hear what everyone has to say about them, or the company in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Chops, It is the point at least from my perspective. I have never heard your amp and also have no clue its operating points. I can say this.. if the amp is designed to run EL34's there is no way your going to get the best the KT88 has to offer out of it. The same can be said if the rolls were reversed every tube has its optimum operating range. This can even be said for each brand of tube within a tube type to some degree. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted July 10, 2004 Author Share Posted July 10, 2004 ---------------- On 7/10/2004 7:18:08 AM NOSValves wrote: Chops, It is the point at least from my perspective. I have never heard your amp and also have no clue its operating points. I can say this.. if the amp is designed to run EL34's there is no way your going to get the best the KT88 has to offer out of it. The same can be said if the rolls were reversed every tube has its optimum operating range. This can even be said for each brand of tube within a tube type to some degree. Craig ---------------- Actually, I'm using KT88s right now from my friend. I just installed them a few minutes ago. From what I can tell so far, they seem to be just as good, if not better than any of the EL34/6CA7 tubes I've used. I won't have a chance to actually sit down and listen until later tonight, but I'm not disappointed so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 I'm running a Consonance Ella that is supopsed to be able to run both though I believe it is designed to be optimal with the El34. My experience is that the KT88 is a more forward sound with more bass but the EL34 is sweeter and smoother with better 3 dimmensionality. THe KT88s sound more solid state to me. FWIW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted July 11, 2004 Author Share Posted July 11, 2004 It's strang how differnt the same type of tube will come across a differnt way an a very similar amplifier. I have to admit, these KT88s I'm using give me a truer "tube" sound than any of the other tubes I've used. The bass is deep and solid, the treble is even smoother than before, (which my KG 5.5s really needed), and the midrange..... Oh the midrange has just blossomed into something I've never heard come from my stereo before. It is so much richer, thicker, three dimentional sounding. These tubes give the midrange so much more detail and livelyness. The imaging and soundstage is incredible. Maybe the circuitry in the M100SE and Ella are different enough to where KT88s sound like tubes in my amp, and like solid state in the Ella, or maybe it has to do with our choices of preamp and driver tubes. All I know is that I'm liking what I am hearing from this combination right now, and I plan on buying these KT88s off of my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstrachan Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 What you hear is what it's all about! Sound like you've found the tube for your amp. I wish the KT88s sounded better in my system as I relly like the way they look (not that that's the important thing) and until my Klipsch Fortes arrive, they are driving 4ohm PSBs and I could use the extra juice. But every time I A/B them with the El34, I end up putting them back in the boxes. You could be right that it is the pre amp/amp combo, I'm using a custom made tube pre amp eith tube rec/reg - e80cc tube with point to point silver wiring. Very basic but I think, very accurate and revealing. There's an absolute minimum of stuff in the signal path. What pre are you using in your system? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I believe the 6550's are a more commercial and robust variation on the KT88's. I'm told that the KT88's are more musical while the 6550's are more punchy. I've heard some stories that the KT88's are a little more fragile as well. I've just retubed my Jolida 202 with Svetlana's EL34s and they are currently going through burn in. Already I've noticed an incredible increase in soundstage, imaging and dynamics. One could argue that this was because my previous stock tubes were near the end of their life - not so with only 1000 hours. The EL34's are a great tube, very musical, and for paupers like me, even top line Svetlana's cost very little. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimfitting Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 On 7/10/2004 at 4:58 AM, dstrachan said: I'm running a Consonance Ella that is supopsed to be able to run both though I believe it is designed to be optimal with the El34. My experience is that the KT88 is a more forward sound with more bass but the EL34 is sweeter and smoother with better 3 dimmensionality. THe KT88s sound more solid state to me. FWIW I have a Willsenton R8 that came with KT88's (also has a switch for using EL34's) and was disappointed when I connected it the first time to find it sounds so much like my Carver TFM55 solid state amp. Not that the Carver sounds bad because it's a really nice amp! I just wanted it to sound more "Tube-y". Would you think if I were to acquire a set of EL34's, I would perhaps experience the "tube-y ness" I was hoping for? It's been on the shelf for about 9 months because I already have 500 watts/channel of solid state goodness. I know this is a very old post. I hope your still alive and enjoying your audio! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimfitting Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwjones Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 On 7/10/2004 at 6:58 AM, dstrachan said: My experience is that the KT88 is a more forward sound with more bass but the EL34 is sweeter and smoother with better 3 dimmensionality. THe KT88s sound more solid state to me. FWIW This is exactly my experience. I ran EL34s or 6550 is my Cary SLI 80s. I don't need a solid state sound from a tube amp, especially into La Scala II or Harbeths. KT88s are not my cup or tea, but your opinion may be different. Oh, and there is a slight sonic difference between bands of KT88s (as well as EL 34 & 6550). Its a slippery tube rolling slope you are headed down . 😱 Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT88 Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 It always depends on the circuit of the amp. And the way the output transformers work is important. Also, an amp really needs to be switchable for different types of power tubes. And of course you have to know what you want sound-wise. I have a MC275 MK IV from 2004 which is designed for KT88, ok you can also plug in 6550 which I didn't like. A good amp design like Mcintosh MC275 is not so dependent on the quality of exotic NOS power tubes. I use the cheapest KT88 for it every year a new set because it always runs. But again, the cheapest are not the worst. I use JJ KT88 for 29€ a piece. They are made on the original Tesla machines from Czech Republic in Slovakia. Tesla had built very comparable good KT88 like GEC Gold Lion at that time. By the way, the very normal JJ Ecc83 (12AX7A for the Americans) are made on the original Telefunken machines from the 1970s. How much scrap, lies and deception there is today...how many venerable names are abused today for cheap scrap you can read here. Even if the author does not appreciate the JJ tubes as much as I do or he has had bad experiences with them, the article is still worth reading even if I disagree on this point. https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/kt88-superthread.361146/ And: who has no idea of the subject: never! put an EL34 in an amplifier that was designed for KT88. Not the other way around either. It is the death of the tube or the amp or both. Do it only if the manufacturer of modern amps like PrimaLuna explicitly allows it and I guess you must switch something. Otherwise it can happen that someone likes and feels e.g. an EL34 as "warm" because it has a much too high idle current or plate voltage in the wrong circuit and will die soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 5 hours ago, jimfitting said: I have a Willsenton R8 that came with KT88's (also has a switch for using EL34's) and was disappointed when I connected it the first time to find it sounds so much like my Carver TFM55 solid state amp. Not that the Carver sounds bad because it's a really nice amp! I just wanted it to sound more "Tube-y". Would you think if I were to acquire a set of EL34's, I would perhaps experience the "tube-y ness" I was hoping for? It's been on the shelf for about 9 months because I already have 500 watts/channel of solid state goodness. I know this is a very old post. I hope your still alive and enjoying your audio! Jim They haven't been on the forum for over 15 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT88 Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 31 minutes ago, wuzzzer said: They haven't been on the forum for over 15 years. But I like threads like this. Yesterday the same thing happened on Audiokarma. Someone asked for a Mcintosh preamp in a thread that was also 16 years old. And Ron-C, a guy with huge knowledge who had worked at Mcintosh before his retirement has responded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasterl Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 In the EL34, KT88/90/120, etc family of tubes, IMO there’s the Svetlana SED Winged-C EL34,… and then there’s the rest of the tubes in this family. The Winged-C EL34 gives the fat, rounded, warm tube-like sound everybody thinks about when then think about tubes, and these work great with bright, forward speakers typical of older Klipsch horn-loaded speakers. They’re a perfect match! The rest of those tubes in that family, IMO, sound too much like SS and just don’t have as much soul. These Forte IV I just got, though, are darker than I recall my old H3 and I’m using TungSol KT120 with them to try to brighten them up. But a better sound, to me, is matching the Winged-C EL34 with an otherwise forward-sounding speaker. In general, I think the JJ and Electro Harmonix tubes in this family sound very similar to each other and different from the EL34 SED. I think the bigger differences are not so much between tube type (e.g., EL34 vs KT88), but rather between manufacturers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KT88 Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Unfortunately, I can no longer buy Winged C Svetlana here, no EL34 and no KT88. Some people let themselves be cheated because New Sensor also bought the rights to Svetlana's name. But they don't come from St.Petersburg anymore. I have since 1995 a 1960 Echolette M120 mono mixer amplifier which was hardly used with original Telefunken tubes. A kindergarten had given it to me when they bought more "modern" amplifiers for early musical education.... I had it for a few years on a 4x12 Marshall cabinet. I have not exchanged the tubes for cheap ones. It has two near mint Telefunken EL34 installed. Unfortunately, I do not have 4 identical Telefunken EL34 for stereo operation. However, the type of tube also plays a role in the sound, not just the manufacturer. The characteristic curve of a beam tetrode like the KT88 is already different from that of a pentode like the EL34. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam_tetrode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the real Duke Spinner Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Heater Current is something to consider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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