Has anyone compared K150 tubes and the stock EL34s in Primaluna integrated/amplifiers?


I have a Primaluna Dialogue HP Premium with stock EL34s.  When the EL34s wear out, which I suspect will be a long time, what would I replace them with?  The KT150 is intriguing to me. 

Has anyone compared these tubes, especially in Primaluna gear?  I'm wondering if I would lose the EL34s midrange in exchange for the increased power of KT150s.  It's hard to find, however, a bad review of anyone using KT150s. 

Thanks all!  
jbhiller

Showing 4 responses by jbhiller

Curiosity is killing me!  Kevin Deal at Upscale told me the EL34s have the best midrange, yet others seem to like the 150s over them.  
Jambalaya 

that's good to hear because I want to avoid losing the midrange sweetness too.    

I'm wondering if I combined the KT120 with Cifte 12AU7s what would happen to the midrange.  Did you keep the stick 12AU7s when you replaced the EL34s?
I'm going to try the following by next week: 

Pre-amp section:  Swap out stock 12AU7s for new old stock Siftie 12AU7s 
Amp section: Swap out stock EL34s for reissue Mullard EL34s.

I'll follow-up with thoughts asap.
Great question regarding the Ciftes. 

When I had 4 of the 6 tubes being Ciftes, I felt that the sparkle and top end air were great but I felt there was a need for some syrup in the midrange and the low end was more subtle. 

I found two combinations worked well. 

1. Center two slots Cifte 12au7s, next inner two slots RCA black plates, and outer two slots any decent tube. 

2.  Center two slots Cifte, next four slots stick Primaluna 12au7s. 

This was kind of a blessing discovery because 6 Ciftes across the board are pricey. 

Just 2 Ciftes seems to be right in my room with my setup. 

Now, I can't say too much about the Mullard reissue EL34s as I had them in s week and then Gold Lion KT88s in for about a week. I will say though that the reissue EL34s were great to my ears, same as the GLs. 

I was was really surprised with the reissue Mullards. They sounded great to me. Tighter and more control than the stock PL EL34s.