Favorite KT88.6550 Tube

I know this is an old thread, but I've been playing around a lot with these tube types lately with my Rogue Eighty Eight Magnum. I really like the NOS Tung-Sol 6550 and GE 6550As. The Tung-Sols I have are the grey plate, three hole version. They are great sounding all around tubes with good bass, smooth, liquid, mid-range, and airy, extended highs with no sibalance. They throw a very large soundstage and are very detailed.

The GE 6550As are also very good. The bass on these are incredible. They are very tight and punchy, the best tube bass I've ever heard! I've read that most bass players prefer this tube in their bass amps and it's easy to see why. The mid-range is also quite warm and liquid. The highs are not as extended as the Tung-Sols, but it is still quite good. Soundstage and detail are good also. Honestly I feel the GE and Tung-Sols are very close, with a slight edge to the Tung-Sols as being the better all-around tube. If you feel your system could use a little more or tighter bass the GEs are your tube.

I've also tried the Wing C KT88s and they sound great also. They have a very linear sound to them with good bass, mids, and highs. Soundstage and detail are also excellent. In fact the Wing C KT88s probably have better detail overall than both the 6550s mentioned above. They are warm for a KT88, but they lack some of the mid-range magic that both ot the 6550s mentioned above have. I think this is just the overall nature of KT88s opposed to 6550s. I prefer the 6550s slightly, but the Wing C 88s were surprisingly good (better than the Wing C EL34s I've tried). I haven't heard any of the NOS Gold Lion KT88s that everyone raves about however and I'm not sure I will giving what they are going for these days. Hope this helps.

Thank you very much on that. I would very much like to try the treasures. Look's like we have another reason to keep voting! ;-)