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I might have a chance to pick up some St. Petersburg Winged C 6550. Alternately, I am considering the New Sensor Gold Lion KT-88. Either one I choose would be for my Cary SLI-80 Signature, which, to my ears (that also square with some reports I've read online) has the potential for some shrillness in the upper-midrange in ultralinear mode. I especially noticed the shrillness with a set of Electro Harmonix KT-88 but not with New Sensor Svetlana 6550.Between the St. Petersburg Winged C and the New Sensor Gold Lion KT-88, which one is "smoother" in the upper mids? IOW, which would be less likely to exacerbate any tendency of the SLI-80 toward shrillness?
Thanks.
Peter
Edits: 11/07/16Follow Ups:
Thought I'd follow up on this thread. While I'd love to have a set of the Winged =C=, I was not comfortable with the ones that were available.
So, I bought a quad of the GL KT88 from Jim McShane, and I have to say I am happy with their sound. There is still a hint of the baseline SLI-80 shrillness, but I do not believe this has anything to do with the GL. In fact, the sound is the smoothest I've yet heard from my SLI-80. And, though this might sound like something of a contradiction, the vestigial shrillness is no longer fatiguing and does not bother me like it did with other tubes.
My SLI-80 is sounding the best it ever has with the GL KT88, U.S. military 5U4s and Raytheon VT-231. I've got the EH 6922 in there, and they sound good, but I would be interested in suggestions for a possible upgrade..?
Peter,
Try some NOS 6DJ8, 6922, my favorite is the Sylvania 7308.
Got the them several years ago before prices got too high.
I have tried Bugle Boys, EH, RCA, and Gold Lions.
The GL's seem to have more energy on the high end, too much for some recordings in my system. Could be a good thing in some situations.
Talk to Brent Jessee about NOS. He is the man for NOS small tubes. Good selection, advice, customer service, and decent prices.
No affiliation just a very happy customer.
Different context: In Rogue M150/M180, just head an shoulders over anything I tried (6550 =C=, GE 6550A, various EH). Only set of power tube I actually used enough to warrant a full re-tube.
KP
SV-6550C are most awesome tubes. Tough with very fine tone. Hard to find good ones, these days. I've seen 1990s matched quad priced close to NOS Tungsol 6550.
I didn't compare the Svetlanas and GL KT-88 side by side, but my Cary SLI-80 came with Svetlanas Winged-C (labeled Ruby) and sounded marvelous right from the box.
However, influenced by some local (and not) audiophiles' opinions (that ALL vintage tubes sound marginally better in ALL amplifiers, which proved wrong), I started buying NOS TS 6550 and GEC KT-88 tubes, which proved to be a step sideways.
As for the modern GL KT88, I personally am not impressed with them as far as the SLI-80 goes.
I haven't listened to Svetlanas for a long time, but described my overall initial impression above.
I am using the new G.L. KT88s in my SLI-80 F1, and like them better than the E.H.; smoother, warmer (but not too warm), more meat on the bones of violins, cellos, everything. But I keep it in triode mode at all times (and I'm running Thiel!).
I would be tempted to buy the winged-C 6550 just to hear them. Did I hear that they are closing the plant in St. Petersburg?
The St. Petersburg factory has apparently been closed for some time now.What happens if you run your GL KT-88 in ultralinear? Do you find it at all shrill?
If I ran my EH KT-88 in triode, the shrillness was pretty much gone but so was almost everything else from the upper midrange on up.
Edits: 11/07/16 11/07/16
I tried GL KT88 with the Cary SLI-80 in the UL mode. They have more Saratov-style "spark" as compared to vintage tubes, but I was not impressed much.
You really loose the upper-end in triode?
What's your amp and speakers?
SLI-80 Signature (with most of the F1 mods but without the "F1" silkscreen). When I flipped to triode mode with the EH KT-88 - dullsville. Speakers were Magnepan MG12/QR and Dynaudio Audience 72.Not nearly as much top end rolloff with New Sensor Svetlana 6550 switching from UL to triode, but they aren't as bright to begin with as the EH KT-88, if that has anything to do with it.
Edits: 11/08/16 11/08/16 11/08/16 11/08/16
Definitely brighter than in triode, but quite nice with my digital front end (Cary 306 sacd); plenty of bloom to the midrange, punchier. Maybe too bright with my analog from end, but right now I'm using a very revealing cartridge (ART7).
It's been so long since I had it in UL, but I definitely noticed a fuller sound with the GL than the EH (in triode).
The GL will be around for a while. I would probably get the St. P. winged 6550 if you can find them for sane price.
thanks
The Genalex would be my choice for sure - and a side benefit is the cost may be less than the now scarce 6550Cs. And they can be had properly matched which can be a problem with scarce power tubes like the winged C.
The EH KT-88 has less bass than some KT-88s which can make it seem "hot" in the top end. It's a fine tube but that is what can make things sound shrill or harsh in some systems.
I agree with Jim.
GL's over the EH any day. Way better all around.
Have not tried Winged C 6550 but tried TS 6550 and was not happy.
Love the Gold Lion sound in my SLI-80, longevity with me was the issue.
May be ready to give them a try now, my experience dates to about 3-4 years ago.
Run TS KT120 from Jim now and am happy. I run triode 95% of the time.
Why do you run in triode most of the time? What do the KT-120s sound like in ultralinear?
Triode mode suits the music I listen to better, Americana, female vocalists etc, just sounds better to my old decrepit ears.
Ultralinear sounds bigger overall. When I listen to heavier stuff I sometimes switch.
Truthfully the difference is slight.
I am relying on memory comparing KT88 to KT120. I will buy a quad of GL's someday soon and do a direct comparison to the KT120's.
Recalling more, my impression is that it was both the SLI-80 and the speaker wire I was using, more than the tubes. I was using the Blue Jeans 10-gauge speaker wire with the SLI-80 and also with some of my other amps. When I switched to different speaker wire, much/most of the shrillness went away, though the shrillness wasn't quite as much of an issue with the other amps (using the same Blue Jeans wire). How one piece of wire can sound shriller than another I'm not sure, but there is was.After I switched speaker wire, I tried the same quad of EH KT-88 in my McIntosh MC275 Mk IV, and, while there was still a little bite, it wasn't like it was in the SLI-80. Granted, the MC 275 might have a little top end roll off compared to the SLI-80 in UL.
The quad of New Sensor Svetlana 6550 (and different speaker wire) in use at the moment have very little shrillness in the SLI-80. Interestingly, in triode mode, the top end does not roll off nearly as much with these 6550s as it did with the EH KT-88.
Anyway, I was wondering how some other tubes might likewise fare in the SLI-80.
Edits: 11/08/16 11/08/16 11/08/16 11/08/16 02/18/17
This is my experience also: I preferred the GL KT88 in an ARC VT130se.
garf
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