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Can an EL34 tube be replaced with a KT88 or 6550?

Hi, I bought an integrated tube amp called Cheer EL34. Yeah, it was made in China so maybe not the best quality, but it seems to sound pretty good. It uses EL34, 6SN7, 6SL7, 5Z4P tubes. I was wondering, if the amp has auto biasing, would I be able to insert a KT88 or 6550 tube for the power section? I'm not sure if the socket arrangement is different. What would happen? Would the tube blow up or something?
smurfmand70

Showing 1 response by aball

aball
2,018 posts
 
Generally no. There are some autobias amps that have a large enough range to handle it but they aren't common. I would not assume that your amp can do it.

The counterpart of the EL34 would be the KT77. The 6CA7 can also be used. But check with the amp manufacturer first to be sure it is autobias and that these substitutions will be fine.

Arthur
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