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151.33.25.45
What are the Tungsol KT120 sonic characteristic?
Are them a good alternative to the best KT88?
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The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.
It's personal taste and the design of the circuit. In my case I prefer the KT120s over my KT88s and 6550s. I have both NOS and new production tubes.
after around 100 hours audition my brandnew 120ies began to sound worse and worse in my atlas magnum. i do not know why this happened. i once was very happy with these tubes right from start but now i am totally disappointed. i switched over back to Ei KT90 and the rogue sings with those again!
N.
The times, they are changing...
Nunki - I found the same with the KT120's except mine that came with my new Octave V110 and after 25 hrs they really changed. I mean they got very tight in the lows - the mids got very forward and the highs got a tad bright. I too switched back to the Ei KT90's and loaned the KT120's to a friend with a V80 and he put about 100 hrs on them. I tried them again for about another 50 hrs and they seemed a bit more balanced (not enough for me) from lows to highs but for me the Ei KT90's just blow the 120's away. To me the KT120 is a punchier and more gutsy sound but not balanced from top to bottom. It's all personal taste.
That said the original Tung Sol 6550 black plates blow the Ei KT90's away. Also since my V110 is designed to take advantage of the extra power of the KT120's (higher plate and grid voltage which is switch selectable between 70W and 110W) I found the Ei KT90's can also be run at the higher power setting which to me sounds better (tried both power settings).
As far as extra power I wrote to Dynaudio (distributor of Octave) who in turn wrote to Andreas Hoffman at Octave (owner and designer) regarding the use of KT150's in my V110. The response back was that Andreas is very impressed with the KT150 sound and he did test them in the V110 stating they will work just fine. But he said there is no power gain by dropping in the KT150's (without a circuit re-design) but also said I would only be hearing the sonic differences between the KT120 and KT150. He also hinted at possibly redesigning the V80 to take full advantage of the KT150.
oh yes, i agree in every aspect you mentioned.
would like to own a quad of vintage TS 6550 black plates once but i am afraid i will not find them for a reasonable price.
what i could offer is an exchange with a another matched quad Ei KT90 i have collected. who knows... :))
N.
The times, they are changing...
For example when I change from sylvania 6550 to SED 6550 I have to change the 12ax7 to a different type or it won't sound good at all. It's about synergy.
Finding a matched quad of TS 6550 bp's at a reasonable price would be very difficult. But first what is a reasonable price?? I did get 1 matched quad at $800 (3 yrs ago) and 4 matched pairs for $225-350 a pair. Remember the bp's haven't been made since 1959. The solid grey plates were made between 1960 and 1963 which are pretty close (but slightly more forward in the mids) and can be found for a more reasonable price. OTOH The Ei Kt90's are a bargain because not everyone even knows this tube. Very similar to the TS solid grey plates but with a larger soundstage. For me personally I have to have a great mid-range first and foremost. The TS bp's and EL34's come in first place. The Ei KT90's and TS gp's come in second (my opinion of course). But the Ei's have a slightly better soundstage and slightly punchier lows. There are 3 pairs and 1 trio of first gen Bp's on e-pray now and they seem reasonable with 2 days left (we know that can change). Not sure I understand his tube readings. There are 3 versions with the bp's being - First 3 top getters - Second being 1 top and 2 side getters on the same side. The third is 1 top and 1 getter on each side (but still 3 total). Can't say I can hear a difference but I did sell my 1 top and 1 each side getters to shut a friend up LMAO (he was buying single bp's on e-pray). Kind of sorry I did it but he is quiet now.
ps: that black KT88 Z also sound stunning in every KT88 gear!
N.
The times, they are changing...
Nunki,
Have you tried the grey glass Psvane KT-88? I hope the new tube is more than a cosmetic change.
no, i have not. but what i can read about that psvanes is, that the treasure Z KT88 sound better than the grey psvanes. i will stay away from the psvanes...
Nunki
The times, they are changing...
I have been told the opposite but am going to stay away until the dust settles.
I read somewhere that a respected tube amp manufacturer doesn't use the KT120 because it's not as linear as the KT88. If that's true then I would use the KT88 and give up the extra watts. The KT88 won't clip at as high a level but it will sound more powerful below clipping.
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