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RE: Svetlana winged-C KT88 replacements

I feel your pain. I too am a Winged C KT88 lover. They are what came in my MC275, and I fell in love with the sound. However, I have been wholly unable to find any RELIABLE replacements. I have scoured the internet for these things and have actually purchased about 5 or 6 quads from vendors all over the US and Canada. I even ordered two quads with high hopes from Lucas Miles Audio in Australia. My thinking was that perhaps someone still had a few good quads of these tubes left. Unfortunately, in every case one or more of the tubes blew in less than 50 hours. I actually still have one used quad and one new quad on hand, but am afraid to use them. How many more tubes can I blow before I damage the amp? So, I tried some Kt88-98s. Not bad, very honest but very generic. I then tried some KT88z. The KT88z have a rich, dark, sexy sound but they lack the dynamics and energy of the Winged Cs. But at least they are involving and interesting. I also tried EH KT88. Very dynamic, but flat as a pancake--even more so than my old SS amp. TS KT88 reissues were better, but still a little sterile and not much on the bottom end. All in all, I am as frustrated as you. I am looking everywhere I know to look to find a tube that captures me the way the Wined Cs do, but haven't found them. For now I'm using the KT88z. However, if you find what you believe to be a reasonable substitute for the Winged C, I hope you'll post it because I'm still looking. I always hate to take a step back in audio, but that's how I feel with the demise of the Winged Cs.

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