KT 88 Tube Opinions

Faustin
Faustin Posts: 1,149
in 2 Channel Audio
Looking for some opinions/advise from all of you tube fans in regards to what you think is the best choice for KT 88 tubes. Thinking it is about time to try some new tubes vs the stock ones in my Silk Audio amp.
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    edited April 2015
    gold lion reissue kt88
    eh kt90eh

    what are the other tubes that you have in now? signal tubes, 6sn7, 12ax7
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,416
    If your amp can run them, I love the KT120's.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    In my amp the EAT KT88s ($$) sound best followed by Treasure KT88s (the deal) followed by OEM Tung Sol 6550. I tried the KT120s but did not like them and took them out. Sitting in a box with 10 hours on them.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,416
    thsmith wrote: »
    In my amp the EAT KT88s ($$) sound best followed by Treasure KT88s (the deal) followed by OEM Tung Sol 6550. I tried the KT120s but did not like them and took them out. Sitting in a box with 10 hours on them.

    I will take them off your hands if you like...
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    Currently running RCA 6Sn7 and Baldwin (Raytheon) black plate 12AX7A's. The manufacturer of the amp does not recommend using the KT120's. I have been thinking about trying the Gold Lions:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/161223990576?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

    or the Treasures

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/361262145020?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    edited April 2015
    I have not heard Marvin mc100b yet but maybe at the start of LSAF in Dallas I'll get a chance to hear them and bring my Kt88 50 year treasures up so we can compare.
    he just got some "eh kt90eh" that sure got my interested up :)

    also I heard the Psvane & Shuguang are the same company now. and Darren is selling some right now in the flea market you may want to think about or wait till I can bring my treasures up to Marvin and see how he compares it to his.

    a link to the Psvane's
    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/167013/new-quad-psvane-kt-88-mk-ii-priced-to-steal-225

    I bought my kt88 treasures from him also.
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,120
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    If your amp can run them, I love the KT120's.

    If John bows out, consider me next in line, please . . . TY
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,286
    thsmith wrote: »
    (the deal) followed by OEM Tung Sol 6550.

    I prefer the Tung's-6550 over the Golden Lion KT-88's in our Jolida 801arc integrated demo rig for LSAF.
    They provided the same soul at the top end but out performed the Lion's at the lower

    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

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  • brianle
    brianle Posts: 572
    I prefer Black Treasure 50 anniversary kt88 over Gold Lions kt88 due to sweeter top end on my Ayon Tritton 3 amp.
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    voltz wrote: »
    I have not heard Marvin mc100b yet but maybe at the start of LSAF in Dallas I'll get a chance to hear them and bring my Kt88 50 year treasures up so we can compare.
    he just got some "eh kt90eh" that sure got my interested up :)

    also I heard the Psvane & Shuguang are the same company now. and Darren is selling some right now in the flea market you may want to think about or wait till I can bring my treasures up to Marvin and see how he compares it to his.

    a link to the Psvane's
    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/167013/new-quad-psvane-kt-88-mk-ii-priced-to-steal-225

    I bought my kt88 treasures from him also.

    I did see these for sale. Wonder how they compare to the 50 year Treasures.

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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    in another post @dhart86 talked about the difference, so maybe he will see this and re post the info for ya!
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
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  • headrott
    headrott Posts: 5,496
    edited April 2015
    txcoastal1 wrote: »
    thsmith wrote: »
    (the deal) followed by OEM Tung Sol 6550.

    I prefer the Tung's-6550 over the Golden Lion KT-88's in our Jolida 801arc integrated demo rig for LSAF.
    They provided the same soul at the top end but out performed the Lion's at the lower

    You are talking original Tung-Sol 6550's I assume (I don't think there are reissues of these tubes, but may be wrong). Those are great tubes and will put out great tune tones.
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    In my amp I found the original Tung Sol 6550 a bit on the dry side. The Treasure KT88 gave more life and sweeter sound. The EATs are in a class by themselves. I won the quad in a contest and will cry when they die.
    Speakers: 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
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    Thanks thsmith. Appreciate the input. Not familiar with the EAT's so I looked them up. $1700 for a quad. Way out of my price range. Maybe I will win some in a contest :)
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    Yeah, as I said above the treasures are the deal.
    Speakers: 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
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  • Mikey081057
    Mikey081057 Posts: 7,127
    Treasures are incerdible
    My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160

    Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |

    ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4

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    Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's

    Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
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  • dhart86
    dhart86 Posts: 1,594
    voltz wrote: »
    in another post @dhart86 talked about the difference, so maybe he will see this and re post the info for ya!

    As voltz mentioned earlier, the Shuguang Black Treasure and Psvane are the same tube, but the Psvane offered enhancements to the black Treasure tube. To my ear, the sonic differences are as described to voltz below

    Hey Voltz...good to hear from you bud! IMO there is a slight difference between the two, although very similar. I'm not the best with descriptions, but here goes....

    I would say that the treasures are smooth & lush sounding compared to the Psvane smooth & more detailed sound

    laid back (Treasure) vs a little bit more forward(Psvane). Again they both sound similar but the Psvane are a little more dynamic!

    They both produce that buttery smooth texture, but the Psvane's highs and bass are more pronounced

    Main Rig:
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  • Chops
    Chops Posts: 33
    Not sure if that amp is capable of running EL34 tubes, but if it is, I would strongly suggest trying a set of 6CA7's.

    I had an old Consonance M100SE that came with EL34's and could run 6CA7's, KT88's and 6550's. Out of all of them, the 6CA7's sounded the best. They had the warm smooth mids and top end of a good EL34 with the balls and grunt of a good KT88.

    The amp sounded great but was a PITA to keep biased. I had to adjust that darn thing every single day, and it was brand new! It even sounded better than the Carry Sli 80 that I had for a few months.
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    Thanks dhart and chops for your input. To the best of my knowledge the Silk Audio (Yaqin) amp will not run on EL34's. I had inquired about running KT120 tubes and they did not recommend it.
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    The model is the MC-100B. KT-88, 6SN7, and 12ax7 tubes. Actually have it listed in the flea market but I may just keep it for a while and go with new KT 88's.
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  • Chops
    Chops Posts: 33
    I would still go with 6550's before going with KT88's, but that's just me. ;)
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  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,901
    no, it will not do the el34 family. i'll have to check but most times when an amp is designed around a certain tube(kt88) it will sound best with that tube type.
    my consonance cyber 800's were designed around the 6ca7 and if you sub in a el34 you lose power.
    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
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  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    Chops wrote: »
    I would still go with 6550's before going with KT88's, but that's just me. ;)

    ^^^^^^ What is your reason??
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  • Chops
    Chops Posts: 33
    To my ears in the system I had at the time, they just sounded better. Still had that KT88 grunt but with a warmer top end.
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