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Apollo owners - any experience using different output tubes

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Have an Apollo 1.5 and running them with KR842. One of the tubes went bad and I was forced to pull out my spare set. Getting the itch to try something different when I get a new spare.
Anyone have any experience with 300BXLS or 52BX? Can you compare to 842. I love the 842 but at times I might like something not as analytical.
Also, has anyone had prooblems with the 842? One tube started popping every time I turned the amps on and the meter pegged. Eventually the meter would settle down to slightly above normal levels (130ma) I first thought it was the 6em7 but I swapped the 842 tubes and the other amp also experienced same problems. What would make a tube go south like this after about 1500 hrs?
Another interesting thing is that old set of 842 ran about 120ma. Spare set runs around 110ma.

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Re: Apollo owners - any experience using different output tubes - Douglas Bolt 18:41:18 05/22/03 (0)
I realize I'm 2 months late joining this thread, but here goes.
I have had KR842's and KR52BX in my Apollo II's. Overall, I think I like the 842's better than the 52's, although the 52's have more bass. Either sound really nice.
Tube live has been a problem, but Ron recently tweaked the amps to bring them up to specs of the latest revision, which includes lowering the current a bit. That should extend tube life a bit. It is my impression that the amps running 52's now sound better than before the upgrade. I am starting to look for a set of tubes to replace the 52's once they go bad, but I'm not yet ready or knowledgeable enough to decide on either a tube design or manufacturer. Any suggestions on manufacturers?
I had a KR52BX go bad a few months ago and Mrs. Kron replaced the tube with no hassles.
Re: Apollo owners - any experience using different output tubes - chriskeating 13:12:46 03/20/03 (0)
Hi,
I owned the Apollo 2's for a few year. I used 842's, and VV52B's, and KR 52BXLS's. All were fine. I lowered the filament voltage to that of the 1.5's so I could get a bit more tube life. This actually made tha amps sound better and eliminated any premature tubasides! I use a Gatekeeper with soft start and this also prolonged tube life. There were a batch of 842's and a batch of KR 52BX's that didn't last long. The last set of 842's sounded great and were reliable. I think each tube had it's own sonic strengths and weakness. I think I liked the 842's the best. I believe the AVVT has a tube that will run in the Apollos. Maybe a 520 or something like that.
Good luck
Re: Apollo owners - any experience using different output tubes - DavidDG 12:49:40 03/15/03 (0)
I have the apollo I amps, but they should be pretty close to yours in sound. I have had 300BXLS, 842 and now a set of VV32's. I think that the 300BXLS and the 842 tubes are not that much differant in sound. They are both very detailed with a solid bottom end. I haven't listended to the VV32's for that much time, so can't give an accurate account of their sound. I got these tubes from Ron when he had a sale, as spares since they were cheap. I have contemplated getting some of the VAIC tubes, but just haven't wanted to spend the money.

If choose a tube differant from the KR, please post your impression.
David Graham

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