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Re: Ping: Jim McShane

Posted by Jim McShane (D) on December 10, 2005 at 08:41:51

In Reply to: Ping: Jim McShane posted by Pen Toad on December 9, 2005 at 04:21:41:

Ahh, I'm derelict in my duty! Apologies everyone, I've just been buried - and then when already buried I got a call from a cable company that wants to use one of my reworked Citation II amps at the High End Show to demo their stuff. So I have to get an amp together for that too. Anyway, that's why this review will be shorter, and will get elaborated on down the road.

I was only able to run the reissue Tung-Sols in a Citation II - in many ways that's good, because Cit IIs don't baby output tubes, but it is only one amp so there may be some differences in a Dyna or ??.

Before I go on I should say that I don't recommend this tube for Citation II amps. The 35 watt rating of a coke bottle 6550 is just too low for the amp. At 35 watts dissipation some of the tubes begin to show a hint of color on the plate; it's not a tube problem, it's just they are being pushed hard - right to the limit. Plus the tube kind of falls apart clarity wise at that high dissipation. This tube begs to be used at 25-30 watts!

For the record, the EH KT-88 is the tube for a Cit II unless you have full capability Ei KT-90s which remain the kings.

Tone wise it reminds me of a GE 6550A more than anything else. Strong bass, wow, no question about it. Very GE like. Smooth high end, warm mids. Clarity suffers at 35 watts, but at lower dissipation it returns, and makes the tube very pleasant to listen to.

The tube definitely changes with time too. The first impression with a brand new tube set was blah, but after an hour it was much better and was still improving, especially in imaging and clarity.

Build quality is excellent, the pin soldering is the best I've seen in new production, the internals look good, there is a large area of getter flash, and the tube is stable as a rock on bias. Even at 35 watts it is stable and solid, it just doesn't sound as good as it does at lower dissipation. My first and current batches of stock had zero duds - nice!

It's a very nice looking tube too, which doesn't hurt.

My conclusion at this point? Well, it's a very fine tube and I can recommend it as long as the dissipation is kept down a bit from the max. Is it better than the old Tung-Sol? No, it is not. In fact GE 6550A and properly made KT-90 Ei are both better tubes. Of course, they are also much pricier!!

If you are able/willing to use both KT-88 and 6550s in your gear let me recommend this - if you need more top end energy to balance your system then use the KT-88 EH. If you need or want more bass without sacrificing a nice mid and high section - then the new Tung-Sol reissue is just the tube for you!

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Sonic Craft

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