A few basic tube questions


For starting info i just purchased a pair of Quicksilver mid mono amps . These are my first tube amps i have owned .

Questions are : I plan on buying several sets of tubes for these amps by different manufacturers. When i have found the ones that i feel i like the best how do i sell the others that will have had an hours worth of use ?

Second question is in regards to the varients my amp can use . They are el34 , kt88,kt90 , and maybe a few more .Will all manufacturers of an el34 sound similar . Or might one el34 sound like someone elses kt 90 .

Third question is in regards to my new dodd preamp . That uses one tube of the 6 volt ilk . There are one of those as well in the quicksilver amps . Is it a good idea to use the same in the pre and amp ?

Lastly if anyone is interested in giving a quick (general description) on the differences of the el34 ,kt88 ,kt90 tubes .
maplegrovemusic

Showing 1 response by lostbears


You have already purchased the Quicksilver mid mono amps. You need to let the amps break in along with the tubes. I would not worry about changing tubes until they are broken in and you get use to the overall sound of the amps. Learn to bias your amps and check the bias often as the new tubes break in.

Different brands of tubes will sound different but will not change the basic sound of the amp. No set of tubes will make a Conrad Johnson amp have a similar sound to say an Audio Research amp. You can use different tubes to fine tune the sound. Normally you choose an amp that you really like the sound of and that works well with the rest of your system. Then you can roll tubes to fine tune the sound.

In general El34 tubes will not produce quite as much power as the 6550/KT88/Kt90 type tubes.

The El34 type tubes will give you a different sound then the 6550/KT88/Kt90 tube types. Different brands of EL34 tubes will sound slightly different. The same is the case with the 6550/KT88/Kt90.

It is always good to have a set of spare tubes. I would not worry about selling tubes right now. Get to know your amps and make sure they are a good fit with the rest of your system