6L6WGC/5881 Tube choices for Amp

Thegoodarcher - Really can't help much on the power tubes. But for the ecc83 the only Brimar I have is the yellow 'T'. Nice but a tad dry compared to my Gec CV6091's (similar but pretty expensive). Have you tried or considered Telefunken ecc83 or ecc803? That's another I like a lot. I have to say like Mechans said the Gold Lion re-issue are nice. As far as vintage Mullard CV4024's they are a nice warm sounding tube (no experience with the re-issue from Russia). Which brings up my next statement. When I had Dyn C1 Signatures speakers the Mullards sounded wonderful. But when I upgraded to the Raidho D1's it wasn't wonderful sounding anymore. I went back to the tele's and Gec.

Time to chime in on this thread regarding your speaker consideration. I had to send my Octave V110 (110W)in for a minor repair when I had the Raidho D1's and got an Octave V70SE (70W) loaner. Not much difference in sound (I previously owned a V70SE). Then I upgraded to the D2's. Sounded good with the same tubes. When the V110 got back the D2's sound better with a bit more control. So the extra power (40W) made them sound a bit better. Although the V110 can use EL34 6550 KT88 KT90 KT120 and KT150 (yes I have them all except the KT150)(no power gain with the KT150 because the Octave was designed around the KT120) I find the tubes that sound best with the Raidho's will be the most linear and detailed sounding tubes. With the Dyn's warmer sounding tubes sounded the best. The Rca 5751 black plate was killer with the Dyn's but too warm (like the Mullards) with the D1's. If you go with Magico I can't really comment what tubes would sound best. But IMO the only way you're really going to know is by trying various tubes. But there lies the beauty with tubes. As long as you have the necessary power there is no real need to swap amps - just roll tubes in and out.

Going from the KT120 to the KT150 will NOT give you any more power. You will only hear the sonic differences. Someone on another forum just upgraded from KT120's to the KT150's on an Arc Ref75 and just loves them. But he probably doesn't have 20 hrs on them yet. I want to wait to hear his impression after 100hrs or so. IMO the KT120 is a slightly dry sound with 'shouty' mids. I'm running Ei KT90's in high power mode and really like them the best so far.

Funny feeling, do you think Magico - :) had anything to do with it?

No not at all. There are people so proud they own a product that they believe there is no better therefore everything else is junk. In this hobby I have never met anyone who hears the same as me and knows what I expect from sound reproduction. You should have seen the cr@p I got on a Dynaudio forum when I said I found a better speaker than the Dyn C1 signature being the D1. It was a LOT worse than what we saw here. I still post there too because for the money I still believe Dynaudio has the best price to performance ratio. But the Raidho sound just haunted me for months. One member who posted like MB1 finally came here to buy some Dyn C2 Platinum's and finally heard the D2's and was shocked how good the D2's sounded. But has 3 boys to put through college. He also bought a pair of Scansonic MB-1.5's for his office and started a new Raidho/Scansonic thread on that forum.

I found the Raidho superior, in every aspect.

I disagree. The Magico has better bass extension. Fine sounding speaker but the Magico sound just didn't draw me into the music like Raidho does. I do agree that for what the Raidho does do it's much better.

Thegoodarcher Like I said I can't help with 6L6 tubes. My amp uses EL34-6550-KT88-KT90-KT120 and KT150.
That said I do own SED tubes (not Sovtek) and for the money they were a very good tube. Not great and IMO not the most durable either but a really good value.

manufacturer says sovtek is better

Could be that the amp was designed and spec'ed for Sovtek's. Which usually means they last longer too. The original Octaves were designed and spec'ed for the SED and the later versions were designed for other brands.

01-04-15: Frogman
I'll bet that the stock tubes are Sovteks. The cynic in me would ask "why would a manufacturer admit that they are not using the very best tubes to begin with and that they will simply use a good solid tube that is cost effective and reliable?". Nothing wrong with that; and to be expected. Welcome to the world of tube rolling. Only you can decide what sounds best.

I think the answer is simple
1-Profit
2-Does it sound bad? - No Then proceed to #1
3-Could it sound better? - Yes Then proceed to #2
That said manufacturers have to what look at what is available today and guess for tomorrow. That can be a real cr@p shoot.