Tube rolling with Quicksilver Mono 60s -- from KT77 to KT88? KT 120? etc.


Happy Turkey Day!  I have Quicksilver 60 Monos and I'm using Gold Lion KT77s. They sound great. The amp came with JJ KT88s and they were a bit bright/harsh. The GL 77s are better.

For variety's sake, I'm thinking of having another set to just try for variation. The monos can use KT77, KT90, KT88, KT120 or KT150 outputs.

I have heard the Gold Lion KT88s are great tubes, but I'd also be open to others (not more 77s, though).

Does anyone one have a sense of the kinds of sound changes might be brought by either KT90 or better KT88 or KT120 or KT150s?

If it matters, I'm using a QS Line stage and stand mount speakers, 8 ohm 87 db.

One thing I'm looking for (possibly) is a somewhat tighter bass, but I'd be open to hearing what other sonic changes might result from other tubes.

Thanks.

hilde45

Showing 2 responses by pindac

To adlib on the advice given,
The Person offering advice, is a very experienced owner of Tubes with access to Tubes from a Two Generation Collection.
This person has always been supportive to make Matched Tubes available for loan, and offered much valuable guidance.
The Person has been instrumental in helping others create a understanding of how Tube Rolling can influence their systems.

The advice made available to myself relating to my Monoblocks was to undertake the investigation to learn what was the best Input Valve configuration to get the best from the resident Output Valves.
This is what I did and it has proved so far to be a very economical approach, if the Pre Amp Purchase and Build is deducted from the £700

I felt more compelled to further investigate the Pre side of the System as a result of the impressive improvement to the Sound Quality being experienced 
My experience with Tube Rolling on my Monoblocks has been carried out by adopting a advice that was offered by a very experiences Tube Roller.
It was to get the Input Valves exchanged and a Type selected that is allowing the Power Amp to deliver a level of performance that is satisfying my personal preferences.

When this was achieved, the Pre Amp in use was seeming to be the next Device in use that was needing a Investigation.
The theory being that the Input Valves may benefit further from a different Pre Amp. 
The follow up investigations with Pre Amps has also produced a Pre Amp exchange, with the result being a Slagle AVC has been removed from the role of being the Systems Pre Amp.

I have been blown away by the impression the
Nelson Pass DIY Pre Amp has made on me, the Korg B1 is a superb 
device at a very 'affordable' cost, even if a Build Service is used to produce it, as I have done.

The Mono's Output Valves have not been Rolled, and there does not feel any immediate need to undertake this investigation. 
It seems hard to consider more can be achieved to the Measures already being perceived.
I am not shut of from from the idea of Rolling Output Tubes,
but there is a level of satisfaction in place at present, that does not feel it needs to be improved upon.

'All in' I invested about £700 in Tubes and Pre Amp, off which a proportion of the outlay will be recoverable if the unselected
Matched Vintage Tubes are resold. 

What ever the Brand of Monoblocks, I can recommend my experience with Investigations undertaken of addressing the Pre Amplification Delivery to the Output Valves, as a Method to produce a overall SQ that will be seen as very beneficial.
How such a approach will then interface with any exchanges of Tubes used at the Output, is at present a unknown, in relation to my experiences.