I recently compared Genalex KT-88 and Tung Sol KT-120 in my Emotive Audio Vita amps. I have been using a set of KT-120s for the last 5 years but recently one of them was making some suspicious noises, so I swapped in my well-broken-in set of KT-88s while I waited for a new set of KT-120s to arrive. Bottom line: in my amps the 88s lack the bass weight, power and authority of the 120s. They don’t sound bad but the 120s sound a lot better.
KT120 back to 6550
Seen a ton of threads praising the KT120 over the 6550 or KT88. I get the new tube's durability and design but given that your amp was originally designed around one of the older tubes has anybody gone back.
I recently purchased and ARC Ref 110 that came with a set of KT120s. The output tubes test and match well so they don't seem to be at the end of their life (same for the signal tubes).
This was a change from a VT100 equipped with 6550s. The VT100 had good midrange but seemed a little lean otherwise. Percussion was fantastic and voices just right. Just deep bass a little thin. The REF 110 definitely fills in the deep bass but seem a little congested in the midrange. Both top and bottom are an improvement.
Both these amps were sandwiched between an LS25Mk1 and a pair of JBL 4430s. Could be a synergy thing, these speakers work very well with high power solid state (Adcom GFA 5802). I've been trying to work up a good tube amp for these but so far I'm not feeling the love.
So the question is could it just be this system would work better with 6550s instead of KT120s?
Thanks
I recently purchased and ARC Ref 110 that came with a set of KT120s. The output tubes test and match well so they don't seem to be at the end of their life (same for the signal tubes).
This was a change from a VT100 equipped with 6550s. The VT100 had good midrange but seemed a little lean otherwise. Percussion was fantastic and voices just right. Just deep bass a little thin. The REF 110 definitely fills in the deep bass but seem a little congested in the midrange. Both top and bottom are an improvement.
Both these amps were sandwiched between an LS25Mk1 and a pair of JBL 4430s. Could be a synergy thing, these speakers work very well with high power solid state (Adcom GFA 5802). I've been trying to work up a good tube amp for these but so far I'm not feeling the love.
So the question is could it just be this system would work better with 6550s instead of KT120s?
Thanks