winged "c" 6550 replacements
sucks2beme
Posts: 5,601
in Electronics
It seems either SED is out of business, or not producing enough tubes.
6550c tubes are a LOT harder to get and $$$.
Any suggestions for modern production tubes?
6550c tubes are a LOT harder to get and $$$.
Any suggestions for modern production tubes?
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
Comments
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I recently replaced my SED 6550's with reissue Tung-Sols. At first I was a little disappointed, but after about 50/60 hours of burning in they are beginning to come around. At this stage I would say the SED's were a little more detailed while the Tung-Sols sound more liquid/smooth. Imagery was better with the SED's but the Tung-Sol's are improving as time goes on. After about the 50 hour mark there was a significant improvement. Honestly I didn't think the Tung-Sols would improve as much as they did while burning in and I also didn't think it would take this long for them to do so. This process seemed much quicker when I was using EL34/KT77 based amps. At this point I still prefer the SED's but if there is any improvement left in the Tung-Sols I would consider them a satisfactory replacement.Decware CSP3 Preamp, RCA 6DJ8, 2 X Rocket 6N1P-EV's, Cary SLA70B Signature V2 Amplifier: 2 X Mullard GZ32's, 2 X RCA/GE 5691's, 4 X Tung-Sol 6550's
Cambridge Audio 640C V2 CD Player & Dacmagic DAC
Rega Planar 3: Deep Groove Subplatter, P3 Motor
upgrade, Dynavector 10x5, JA Michell counterwieght, Cardas tonearm wiring and Mapleshade stand
Parks Audio Budgie Hybrid Phonostage with BEL 6922 tubes, Polk Audio LS70's
H.H. Scott 330D AM/FM Tuner with H.H. Scott 335 Multiplex adaptor. -
That's what I'd thought about Tung-sol was they were ok (not stellar).
You can still get some SED's but at a premium."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
what about the kt88 route? gold lion reissues.Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
Speaker Cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
Interconnects: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2, Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
Digital cables: Crystal Clear Magnum Opus 2 bnc, Tellurium Q aes, Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature 2 bnc
Puritan PSM156 -
what about the kt88 route? gold lion reissues.
Those may be the next quad I purchase. I haven't had my amp very long so thus I've yet to get that far. My Cary is the first 6550 based amp I ever worked with. I've read a few GL KT88 reviews and I must admit I've yet to come across one highly recommending them over the other options. But, as we all probably know, it depends a lot on what components one utilizes.sucks2beme wrote: »That's what I'd thought about Tung-sol was they were ok (not stellar).
You can still get some SED's but at a premium.
I agree, but if the Tung-Sols I have keep improving, just a little bit, I wouldn't place one above the other. At this time I hoping for a little more clarity. If they don't improve I may try replacing my RCA 5691 (6SL7 variant) drivers with new ones. Those tubes came with the amp when I bought it. The previous owner said they only had four months of use on them and since then I've added another ten months of moderate use. They are heavy duty industrial/military 10,000 hour tubes and they should be okay, but then again who knows. Oh, how I love chasing these demons. Anyway good luck with your amp. I'm sure you'll like whatever tubes you end up with. With all that I said my current amp is still better sounding that the Prima Luna Prologue Four that it replaced. I call that a win situation. Again, good luck.
Decware CSP3 Preamp, RCA 6DJ8, 2 X Rocket 6N1P-EV's, Cary SLA70B Signature V2 Amplifier: 2 X Mullard GZ32's, 2 X RCA/GE 5691's, 4 X Tung-Sol 6550's
Cambridge Audio 640C V2 CD Player & Dacmagic DAC
Rega Planar 3: Deep Groove Subplatter, P3 Motor
upgrade, Dynavector 10x5, JA Michell counterwieght, Cardas tonearm wiring and Mapleshade stand
Parks Audio Budgie Hybrid Phonostage with BEL 6922 tubes, Polk Audio LS70's
H.H. Scott 330D AM/FM Tuner with H.H. Scott 335 Multiplex adaptor. -
ARC doesn't support kt88's and others in place of 6550's.
They say "may cause issues". Not sure what that means, but
I'm going to move with caution. Upscale Audio still has them
at $69 a pop. Not over the top for me, but if you have a
200 watt piece that would be a wallet biter."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
ok, interesting.
They seem to have had a change of policy.
They say the kt88's are a go. Send message to ARC and they
seem ok with it now. 4 years ago they said NO."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
Treasure KT88s are real nice too. I have used TS 6550 originals and the EAT KT88 blow them all away including TS 120sSpeakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
