Tube novice here. KT88 or EL34?


Hello everyone
I want to setup a second system consisting of tubes. I love my McIntosh SS but for some music I realize tubes are better. I auditioned the Cary SLi80, the Rogue 66/88, EAR 847, and the Unison Research Simply 2. Of the three, I liked the Unison the best. It was very musical, almost ethereal in presentation and I loved it and want one badly. It was auditioned on very strange speakers called Royd Ministrels which looked ridiculously puny but sounded remarkable. I want to stick with an integrated so it is all-tube sound and no mismatches (most separates are out of my budget).

Anyway, there are two versions of this integrated, one with KT88s and one with EL34s (I auditioned the latter). What is the big difference? The KT88 one is more expensive so I am wondering. I favor soundstage and musicality over anything else. I have a Sony ES CDP, and Paradigm Reference 100.2s with MIT cables (will these speakers do well with 12W? The Royds were a lot less sensitive and sounded fantastic so I assuming it will do fine). Thanks for any info, ideas, suggestions, as I am new to tubes. Arthur
aball

Showing 4 responses by newbee

arthur, you must hear the speakers and amp together if you can. you can't assume that because the Royd's sounded good, the Paradigm will. Its not just about sensitivity its also about impedence. do you know what the impedence curve of the paradigm (and the Royds) looks like? do you know its minimum impedence? do you know the sensitivity level of the Paradigms and the Royds). 12 watts of power doesn't sound like much unless you speaker has a high sensitivity level and an easy impedence load.
WAG, the KT 88 version will have 2x the power of the EL34. The EL34 may have a sweeter mid-range.
Arthur, sounds like your speakers will not like a SET or low powered tube amp. I would recommend that you stick with a push/pull design that uses pentode tubes (EL34's, 6550's, KT88's, or KT 90's for the most part) and puts out at least 40 to 50 WPC. The ASL integrated could be a great and ecconomical place to start. FWIW i find that the same tube in different amps will sound different(and a different brand of the same type of tube will sound different in the same amp) so sound wise its not just about EL34's or KT88's. It all in the application. good luck......
Arthur, i don't know of any cheap and efficient speakers to match up with a SET amp. You might look at the Soliloquy, they have some high efficiency, high impedence speakers designed for SET's which don't cost an arm and a leg. How many bucks can you spend on amp & speakers?