KT- 88 in a DR103 or DR 504

[louis]

In the youtube's 1969 200 watt SAP video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf4u9yq_Xnk
Think his name is Roy , he uses 2 Gec's KT-88 and his sound is huge !
Quite a big diffence with EL-34's .Problem is that two Gec's are going for $1000 on the net ,kind of crazy!
Maybe the winged C's would be ok at a reasonnable price !

Nothing wrong with my Dr-103 ,in fact ,my amp does sound awesome ! but my Questions is ,can I put 2 KT-88 in my DR-103 ,does anybody here experienced with KT-88's ,would there be a big tonal differnce in the sound ?

Thank's!..................Louis

[Dr.HI-TONE]

the different preamp in that amp has a bigger affect on the tone than KT88's.

You can run them in a DR103 with a bias adjustment, but they will burn up faster as they are spaced closer together than they should be optimally. Personally I wouldn't sacrifice some real GEC's to "scratch that itch".

[louis]

Thank's Doc!

Is it possible to build a 50 watt SAP 1969 specs with two KT-88s spaced at each side of the chassis
four tubes holes to eliminate the heat problem and get that approximite tone ?

Louis

[Dr.HI-TONE]

yes, it should be possible!

[louis]

yes, it should be possible!

Sounds like 2010 project then !! ......love this place !!

[Dr.HI-TONE]

I have a '69 Sound City 200, waiting to be transformed into one of these.............when I get the time.

[louis]

Any suggestion on good honest KT-88's without braking the bank ?

Louis

[Dr.HI-TONE]

I like JJ's, but the =C= (winged c's) are also regarded highly, by guys whose opinions I value.....

JJ's are usually a little less expensive than =C='s

I doubt that you would be disappointed with either of the two.

[louis]

Thank's Doc !

One last question !

To build such an amp with KT-88's ,
should I go with 50 watt or 100 watt trannys to get the most out of the 88's ?

Louis

[Dr.HI-TONE]

I would use 100 watt transformers, but hopefully Prof. Huss will chime in and share his expertise.

[OldSchoolDave]

I would use 100 watt transformers,...

Not the Prof., but I'd go that route as well. Using the outer 2 tube sockets is a good idea and this sounds like a cool project.

GEC's are wonderful, but incredibly expensive these days. I put JJ KT88's in my DR201 (matched quad from TubeDepot) and was happy with their performance (especially at the price). There aren't a lot of options out there for KT88's .

Dave

[mhuss]

If you going to use 'normal' 50 watt voltages, the 50w OT would probably be fine. The KTs will be coasting at those voltages, and I think 'bending the iron' a little is part of the cranked sound.

--mark

[Dr.HI-TONE]

Cool.
Good to know!

[louis]

I'm gonna start looking for some good KT-88's!

Louis

[ThunderOne]

I tried JJ and Winged C KT88s in my '72 DR201. They were ok but the best sounding ones to my ears, so far, are the russian Gold Lion reissues. I also have Gold Lion KT66s in my Metro JTM45 and they are heads and shoulders above the rest. I'm still hoping to get original NOS matched sets of GECs to compare but have had no luck so far.