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The EAR is fine..

I am an 868 PL owner myself although I admit that I am not much of a rock fan but I have sympathy for what you say.

If you are running it with the original EAR branded tubes then I would say that although they are very good they may not be the best for rock music. I found them a little rolled off at the top with a generous mid-bass but with a soft texture not suited to the driving bass of rock music.

As with things be-tubed part of the sound that you get is that of the tubes themselves. The 868 can be run on both PCC88 and ECC88 dual triodes ( 6DJ8 or 7DJ8). Just don't mix them. NOS PCC88s tend to be more plentiful and cheaper these days. I have compared both varieties from the same manufacturer in the 868 and cannot tell them apart.

Try some NOS Tungsrams which are very good and easy to find. If you can locate them then even better ( open and extended , solid bass) are PCC88s from Telefunken. Unfortunately they are hen's teeth these days.

As the EAR 868 has inherently great timing it should be excellent if properly fettled (have you the phonostage equipped PL version?). If you don't find this ultimately then it may be that SS is the path for you.


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