Marantz 8B, best tubes to use ??

try the "winged c" svetlana tubes (or SED as i think they are now labled in the states) a very good all round tube that is pretty cheap and beats the sovteks into the dust!

I no longer have a Marantz 8b so I cannot attest to the preformance of the current offerings in the stock 8b. I would concurr with Albertporter on the voice of the Mullard fx-2 though as the original model 8 and 8b were voiced with that tube. The original American nos GE, sylvania and phillips big bottle 6sca7's were rather warm and fuzzy when directly compared to the mullards in the 8b.That said: Even the esteemed fx-2 paled in comparison to the Genelex KT-77 [a beam power tube] that was supplied as the stock tube in the model 9 monos and offered as a more expensive option for the 8b. Although they are obsenely expensive today and typically sell for 3 times the cost of nos mullard fx-1's or fx-2's, they are far and away the best output tube for the 8b.

I have many different sets of EL34 tubes, and I am really loving the JJ KT77's in my 8b.
Also, be sure to try the E90F's in the first stage- really makes this amp sing!!!!! Bruce

@hifibruce do you still like the jj kt77 in a Marantz 8b?