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Best current production KT-88 ?
Posted: Tue May 25, 2021 9:57 pm
by Raw Power
for a'1975 DR-201 .
What's good ?
Thanks !
Re: Best current production KT-88 ?
Posted: Thu May 27, 2021 3:30 pm
by mhuss
There's so many available now and we haven't ever tried a lot of them. EH is even making a "Mullard" KT88, lol.
I got a set of JJ KT88s a while back that worked well for a while until one lost vacuum. No failures since, but I don't use that amp very often.
The Russian tubes (EH, Tung-Sol, Mullard) are generally rugged. The Tung-Sol KT120 is a higher-spec member of the family that works within the same parameters, and would be even sturdier. A lot of the HiFi manufacturers are using these now.
--mark
Re: Best current production KT-88 ?
Posted: Sat May 29, 2021 11:54 pm
by Raw Power
Thanks, Mark .. I wonder if I should maybe give the KT-120s a shot .
You haven't tried those, I guess ?
Re: Best current production KT-88 ?
Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:27 pm
by mhuss
I haven't tried the 120s (a little pricey for idle curiosity!
) - if you do end up trying them please give us some feedback.
Re: Best current production KT-88 ?
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:04 pm
by Dr.HI-TONE
I tried the 120s about 4-5 years ago and they failed quickly.
The most rugged new production Kt88s in my experience are burned in and matched JJ's from Amplified parts or Eurotubes or the TAD chinese made tubes. I have used several quads of each.
I used to use the new gold lion (EH-russian) KT88, and while they sounded great they were too delicate to be considered reliable enough for HI-TONE use.