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Hi Jim,Are you in a position yet to report on the new Tung Sol 6550s? I'm eagerly awaiting your thoughts, as I'm sure are many others!
Follow Ups:
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!
Hmm,Wonder if these reissue Tung-Sols will sound good in a Cary SLI-80 signature? The SLI-80 signature is biased at 75ma (for a pair of 6550/KT88). And outputs 50 watts in triode and 80 watts in ultraliner (per channel). Am I correct in saying that is I bias it down to 70ma per channel the Tung Sols should be sounding good? Or has the biasing on the SLI-80 Sig nothing to do number of watts dissapation.
How would you compare the reissue Tung-Sols 6550s to the SED winged "c" 6550s? Thanks.
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"And is it any wonder that the monkey's confused?" - Roger Waters
I have a different amp than Jim. An ARC D-76A. To me the SED and TS reissue sound completly different.
The SED has more midrange texture. Vocals are focused very much in the middle. The bass is there but a little on the fuzzy side. HF are good but not as extended as other tubes. Overall a great tube.The Tung Sol reissue had better bass. The bass is not alot more than the SED but it's more defined tight, and punchy. The vocals are focused in the upper mids. The HF is more extended. This tube feels more detailed with a tall soundstage because of the HF and LF extention. There is not as much texture in the midrange. Overall a great tube.
Both of these tubes are nice to have. When one isn't doing it for me, putting in the other does the trick. Because of the overall ballance of each tube they image differently but equally well.
nt
It's hard to say, my Tung-Sol experience is limited. But do be aware of the higher dissipation limits of the 6550A SED vs. the 6550 - 42 watts vs. 35 watts.I'd say the Tung-Sol has stronger bass, the top end sounded pretty similar except the Tung-Sol was a bit more extended.
That's about as far as I can go right now, and that is based on limited experience and not too much listening time. So keep that in mind!
Same results on a Cayin A88T. I tried the EH KT88 and it sounded too bright with my Coincident Technology Eclipse speakers.
I switched to the TungSols reissue and the sound is just perfect in triode mode. It is also very good in ultra linear mode, and when I need to play louder I use this mode.
Still, when played really loud they start distorting, especially on male voices.
I am curious on the KT90 Eis though... Do they provide adequate bass, or are they mostly high frequency strong?
I used the SED, the EH KT88 and the TS 6550. The SED was kind of lifeless, the EH had too much treble and the TS6550 is fine.
Nevertheless, the EH would be an excellent tube for a dull or bass heavy system.
nt
Boy, you nailed it IMHO. That's almost exactly how I would describe the tubes you mentioned. I think the EH has a "tilt" towards the top end, it doesn't produce the quantity of bass some other tubes do, but boy oh boy, the tight clean bass it produces has won new admiration from a number of us Chicago guys. We were listening to some upright bass the other day on my system, and it was really remarkable how clean, taut, and fast the bass was with the EH. The bass quality of the EH is magnificent, really it was even better than I'd ever realized. There just isn't as much of it as the Tung-Sol or some other tubes - although it does definitely improve with some hours on the tube. So the EH is perfect to balance a system that could be bass heavy or "slow" sounding.And I'm already on record, but I'll say it again - I like the reissue Tung-Sol, just as you do!
HiI own the Cayin a88t amp. I was interested in knowing what other tubes did you try out with the amp? And how do they stack up against each other and the stock tubes on the amp?
The Ei KT-90 WHEN PROPERLY MADE has it all. Great tube, top to bottom. They provide strong tight bass that goes all the way down, and beautiful top end too.
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