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Tung-Sol 6550 - Current Issue

Just curious has anyone had any issues with these tubes? I replaced my Sovtex 6550 (as they were a little long in the tooth) with the Tung-Sol back in September and since then I've had two of the Tung-Sol die on me (seems like I get three or four months and then one of them dies). I have a Jolida 502A and I had the amp checked out in December and replaced the resistors and capacitors by Deja Vu Audio so don't really think it's the amp. I like the sound of the Tung-Sol but their reliabilty seems to be not so great, especially with their 6550s. The Deja Vu guys have been good about replacing the tubes, but nevertheless I'm wondering if it the amp or the tubes? I live close enough to Annapolis (50 miles) that I could take the amp to Jolida have them check it out, but if it's the tubes then I might be better going back to the Sovtex. Of course I'm wondering if the tube sockets might be going bad?

Thoughts anyone?
cleaneduphippy

Showing 1 response by ghosthouse

ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse
4,321 posts
 
Hello, CUH -
Not sure this will illuminate anything for you...perhaps more by way of commiseration. I have a JoLida 502B. It came with stock Sovtek 6550s that ran without problem for almost 6 years. They seemed bullet proof. I went to JJ/Tesla KT88s and had reliability issues similar (I think) to the failure frequency you encountered with the TungSols. I am now using Penta Lab (Shuguang solid plate) KT88s. So far, so good. My B is now almost 7 years old. Haven't replaced any of the circuit components to date but have been thinking lately about a rehab.
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