AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I had one of my Svetlana KT88's go south on me this weekend. Needless to say it took out a 10ohm resistor, replacing it and installing some no name Russian 6550's that came with the amps when I bought them put me back in business. The problem is I lost some of that lush sound that I enjoyed with the Svetlana's. Craig recommended the Valve Arts and another made by Penta Labs, I heard and read good things about these tubes, but before I take the plunge I came across the reissued Tung Sol and was interested on how they stack up by comparison. Anyone out there give this reissue a try and how does it compare to say other KT88's? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Am I following you[] I have and there are indeed nice tubes but only time will tell the truth. I will not if I can help it recommend tubes that do not have a track record to go buy. I have 3 sets of the original Tungsols also and don't run them in my gear if that tells you anything. Mind you not that there not good tubes they just simply do not sound any better then what I run so I figure why burn them up. These reproduction tubes are made in Russia just like your previous tubes. I personally have never preferred any of the Russian made KT88's or 6550's but I haven't tried them all I think I still have to try the JJ Tesla KT88. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I have read good and bad on the JJ's. Good for tight bass but longevity? I have a beautiful matched pair of RCA 6550 that I was going to put on Audiogon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Craig, I kinda have a bad taste in my mouth about that tube going bad on me, and how it went bad to the point of taking out a resistor in my amp. Honestly I don't use my system everyday, or leave it on when I'm not around for obvious reasons. I think that tube should have lasted longer. I've also had some other new stock Russian tubes fail, one that comes to mind was JJ 12ax7's in my Scott 299, I'm sure you don't remember you and I discussed it at the time. I've gotta get me a tube tester, at this point it would be beneficial to test out these other three tubes and see what sort of life is left in them, and even test the bad one to see what transpires. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 How do you like your MKIII? I just purchased a pair and I am looking to upgrade them. What mods. did you make and would you do anything differently if you had to rebuild them again? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 How do you like your MKIII? I just purchased a pair and I am looking to upgrade them. What mods. did you make and would you do anything differently if you had to rebuild them again? Thanks Dylani, The MarkIII's are a keeper. It's been a few years since I rebuilt and modded them, so I'll fill you in as best my memory will allow. I ordered Triode Electronics front end boards, rebuild kit which includes all the resistors, caps, and replacement of the selenium rectifier to a diode design (correct me if I'm wrong here guys). They also have a power supply board that replaces the can on top which you install internally, with Craig's guidance he suggested that I can increase the power supply even more by replacing the can on top with another and incorporate it in, adding to the power supply. That made a big improvement in way of better controlled bass and imaging also improved slightly. I installed Hovland caps on the front end board, that sweetened the sound up a bit, strapped it in triode mode again by Craigs suggestion, this has turned into one very nice sounding amp. If I had to do anything differently it would be to not have used magnet wire as I used in my Foreplay project. Very hard to work with, and I did acquire a short on the case when I finished building it. I would also have changed out the original tube sockets that house the power tubes, I notice the tubes are wobbly when installed, for a couple of extra bucks go with new. Just for kicks I would install higher quality (boutique) parts internally, what the heck for an extra maybe $100.00. Craig also mentioned a mod were you can get a slower start up when you turn on the amp, I guess so it doesn't beat up your rectifier tube, this I haven't done, because I couldn't figure out the parts list he emailed me to do the mod. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I use JJ tubes in all of my amps. 12ax7s and 7591s in my Scott LK-72, EL-84s in my Scott 299, and KT-88s in my VRDs. I removed the JJ 12au/Ax7s in the VRDs to add NOS tubes, but the JJs worked fine. I have never had a JJ fail. My experience is that they are fine middle of the road tubes. The JJ KT-88s sound better to me than the Valve Arts. That is just my opinion. I have been using the JJ KT 88s in my VRDs since March. No problems. Hope the info helps. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Mark, The tube issues I had with JJ were a few years back when they first started surfacing on the market, I'm to assume quaility control has improved since. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Analog, I was just chipping in with what I know about JJ tubes from how they have worked in my equipment. Although I do it, I really don't prefer to recommend specific tubes. We all hear differently and have different setups. My tubes might sound like junk in someone else's stuff, and vice a versa. I'd hate to steer anyone wrong. So, I was just saying the JJs have been OK for me. I hope they don't take out one of my amps now. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Mark, Ya, I don't mid the tube failing as much as the fact that it started to fry my amp, lucky I'm only slightly dangerous with a soldering iron and VOM in my hand, otherwise I'd be shipping my stuff out to Craig and I'd be out tunes. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Well, I had a Valve Art KT-88 go bad and one of my LaScalas started to sound like an airplane crashing in my livingroom. The thing lit up like a fire work and luckily I shut the VRD off before it took out my speaker and whatever else. There was no damage in the end, just a bad tube. I believe that tube may have been damaged in shipping as this was when my VRDs were brand new. But I hung in their with Valve Art, ordered replacements and listened for a month or so. When I got the itch to roll tubes I didn't find a wide selection of KT-88s at the time and tried JJ since the price wasn't quite as much as a couple of the others. I have listened to the JJs for so long now I might try putting back the Valve Arts to see what differences I can hear now. I think you will find that most of these brands of KT-88s are fine and that the small tubes are what you want to zero in on. I found that in the VRDs they change the personality far more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Dylani, I almost forgot, I also did the dual bias mod so you can bias each tube individually. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Mark, It's funny you say that about the JJ's being the most affordable out there back then, now there the most expensive as far as current production tubes on the market. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Tom, I've got some EH 6550's in my Mark III's and really like them. They are priced very nicely too, About half the price of KT90's and I like them better. Haven't heard the reissue Tung Sol's, but for whatever it's worth, the fellow who rebuilt my Mark III's didn't think much of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Oh so many choices, it's mind boggling. The only true way to decide what to like is unfortunately a very expensive indever, order them all and have a shoot out. Ok that ain't gonna happen, but it sure would be fun. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Daddy Dee, You went from Paramours 2a3 based tube to MarkIII's, what gives. Did you sell the Puppies, those were a fun project. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Daddy Dee, You went from Paramours 2a3 based tube to MarkIII's, what gives. Did you sell the Puppies, those were a fun project. Tom Yeh, I really enjoyed the 2A3 SET sound. Sold them to someone on the forum, but I've had an attack of amnesia now as to who it was. Something about the bass dynamics really sounds good about the Mark III's. They sound good all the way around, but the headroom is nice. Would really like to keep a larger collection of amps... but have to keep the WAF at a satisfactory level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Dylani, I almost forgot, I also did the dual bias mod so you can bias each tube individually. Tom Thanks for the help I should have them soon. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalOg Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 "Something about the bass dynamics really sounds good about the Mark III's. They sound good all the way around, but the headroom is nice." That somes it up in a nutshell! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylanl Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 If thetubes are matched why do you have to have dual bias points? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.