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Tube amps for classical music FU29 vs EL34

I'm not familuar with the sound of different tubes/tube amps. I have a a Jadis intergrated has 4 KT90's, and has a good sound, but the speakers limit the amp. Soon to be rectified, new speakers with a 87db rating late this summer. But I'd like to get another amp for primary system, keep the Jadis for a second system. I'm looking at 2 tube amps, one has 4 EL34's the other 4FU29's, both intergrated amps. I'm guessing the EL's will sound like the KT90's, and have more bass end. But with classical, I can forgo some "punch". The FU's look like it may offer more complexity in the mids, for orchestration and vocals/opera. Right track?
bartokfan

Showing 1 response by mwilson

mwilson
430 posts
 
EL34's with more bass than KT90? That would seem unlikely, based on my experiences, and a bit of conjecture: As compared to KT90 (taking KT88 as my reference... KT90 is a derivative of the KT88) - what I can offer is that every KT88 I've heard has vastly out-bassed every EL34 I've heard. EL34s are famous for mids, which they have in spades. I find them noticeably lighter in bass regions than KT88s. KT88 has great bass, good mids, and great highs - if anything, the KT88 is pretty well balanced in my experience, from low-to-high. The EL34 *is* an octal tube with similar operating requirements, so it's a drop-in replacement with many (but not all) amps that take KT88 and KT90, but it's not really a next-door neighbor of those tubes, soundwise.

I've not heard of 4FU29 tubes.

Based on your listening preference, you may indeed quite like the EL34s. They're *the* midrange tube for many listeners... but they give up some ground to KT88/KT90/6550 in the lower frequencies.
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