Tube upgrades for Jolida 502B?

By the way...
A follow up from Michael Allen at JoLida indicates the 502B now comes stock with EH6550s. EH was chosen for "excellent reliability". He said "If you wish to be perfect...look at the KT88s." He also suggested talking to the Tube Store for input on sound qualities.

The full 502B tube upgrade recommendation from the Tube Store was: JJ Tesla KT88, Ei Elite 12AX7E, NOS Mullard 12AT7WA. Any thoughts about this combination? The Tube Store review of the JJ KT88s using Quicksilver amp and Vandersteen speakers is very positive and appealing. Am just a bit antsy about reliability. The Sovteks ain't necessarily the "best sounding" but they are tough. Would prefer to compromise a bit on sonics to avoid blowing a tube or frying an amp circuit component. Thanks for your input. It sounds like KT88 is the way to go and I expect there are a number of options that will deliver very good results as your various systems show. May have to just close my eyes and "jump" as it were.

just fyi if you are interested in my little saga...I went with the full Tube Store recommendation as described above. Just installed them last night. Was only able to listen 1 1/2 hours. I assume the sound will improve further with time. My immediate impression listening to Peter Gabriel's "So" is that I'm hearing some bass notes that appear an octave lower than what I could hear before. Sub-sonic...almost felt more than heard. Greater clarity and more detail than previously. Highs at this point might not be as smoothe as before (I'm actually not quite certain about this) but the original tube complement was 5 1/2 years old. Also the Forests have <150 hours on them. Have to believe more time for tubes and speakers will make a difference. If anyone has thoughts about time for tube "break in"...or whether there is such a thing for tubes as for other components - I'd be interested to know what you think.

12at7 - brimar yellow "t" label 6060s circa 1954
12ax7 - mullards d "getter" circa 1957
6550 - tung sol black plate triple top getter circa 1957

HUGE difference
i like it better now tham my friends mac

Ghosthouse-
How do you like the sound of the Tube Store set of tubes? Are they reliable? How many hours do you have on them?

Im waiting for my first tube amp to arrive- JD 502 brc. Cheers.

Tbromgard - I hope you enjoy your Jolida 502 as much as I did mine. The tube complement recommended by the Tube Store sounded great. Unfortunately, the JJ KT88s just did not seem that reliable. I had a couple fail in well under 1000 hrs and on at least one occasion necessitate an amp repair. Ultimately, I went to Winged C SED KT88s purchased from Upscale Audio. That isn't anything against the Tube Store. I have subsequently purchased and will purchase again from them. The Mullard and Ei Elite small tubes they sold me were just fine. Because I changed all the tubes out at the same time, however, I can't give you any impressions about their individual contributions to the overall sound. Before you do any tube rolling, do take some time to get familiar with how the amp sounds in stock form. I think the Jolida represents good value and it does benefit from some relatively inexpensive tweaking. I heard improvement from the following: Herbie's Tenderfeet between amp and hardwood cutting board used as platform for it; HiFi Tuning Fuse; upgraded power cord. I went with a MAC Soundpipe but today would also consider a Pangea AC-9. Finally, after you have lived with the amp for a good while, get in touch with Jolida. Call them direct and find out about their factory upgrade. It was maybe $250 or a little less when I did it. Thought it was well worth the $. Noted greater clarity and a bit more detail as well as deeper tighter bass from it. Wished I had done it sooner. I don't use the Jolida day to day anymore but did keep it as a backup. While they sounded great with the Jolida, the Totem Forests I was running really needed more power so I eventually got some higher power tubed monoblocks. If WAF allowed, I would love to get a 2nd set of more efficient speakers (e.g., Tekton Lore's?) to use with the Jolida from time to time. Good luck with your 502B. Again, I hope it gives you many hours of listening enjoyment.