6L6 tubes

[SoundMods]

Golden Dragon KT-66s can be found for around $150 for a quad

Just be aware that KT-66s cannot just drop in a KT-88 designed amplifier unless the plate and screen voltages do not exceed the KT-66's requirements.

When I had my Music Angel, its mild voltages enabled me to tube-roll to my heart's content. That's when I took a chance on the expensive vintage Genelex KT-66s and never regretted it.

With fixed-bias adjustments on the amplifier's top plate (a DIY project that paid dividends) I rolled many different KT-88s, EL-34s, and KT-66s. With special adapters the Bendix Red Bank 6384 tubes were almost competitive with the Genelex tubes but just not quite as musical. The Genelex KT-66 had a mid-range openness and clarity that's tough to beat. The Golden Dragons were the closest to the Genelex experience.

How many power tubes do your SETs use?

[David McGown]

The Tung-Sol KT66's look like 6L6GC's to me and don't sound very nice--constricted and plain-Jane. The Tung-Sol reissue 5881 is a nice tube.

Just as a matter of information -- Tung-Sol the company does not exist. The rights to the name was purchased by a Russian tube manufacturer. Any experience I've had with a Tung-Sol wanna-be had been under whelming. My Cary's came with after-market Russian Tung-Sol 6SL7s and they were terrible. Kind of "scratchy and grainy."

Walt, that is not a fair assessment. Power tube quality is driven by a huge market, not so much a small signal 6SL7 that has limited (if any) commercial usage. Watermelons and kumquats. There is more effort and incentive ($$$) to build decent power tubes, as well as common small signal types as 12AX7s. Not much goes into replacement tube types that are not in high demand.

David

[SoundMods]

The Tung-Sol KT66's look like 6L6GC's to me and don't sound very nice--constricted and plain-Jane. The Tung-Sol reissue 5881 is a nice tube.

Just as a matter of information -- Tung-Sol the company does not exist. The rights to the name was purchased by a Russian tube manufacturer. Any experience I've had with a Tung-Sol wanna-be had been under whelming. My Cary's came with after-market Russian Tung-Sol 6SL7s and they were terrible. Kind of "scratchy and grainy."

Walt, that is not a fair assessment. Power tube quality is driven by a huge market, not so much a small signal 6SL7 that has limited (if any) commercial usage. Watermelons and kumquats. There is more effort and incentive ($$$) to build decent power tubes, as well as common small signal types as 12AX7s. Not much goes into replacement tube types that are not in high demand.

David

Tell that to the manufacturer -- they brag about their "Tung-Sol" 6SL7s and 6SN7s.

[Grover Gardner]

David[/quote]
Tell that to the manufacturer -- they brag about their "Tung-Sol" 6SL7s and 6SN7s.[/quote]

I have found the small octal Russian-made tubes to be a mixed bag. The "gold pin" EH premium 6SN7 has a very weird top end, fuzzy and distorted, while the regular EH is too bright and edgy. The "Tung-Sol" brown-base 6SN7 is actually not bad, smooth and clean. I have not tried any of the 6SL7s.

[Pelliott321]

these amps have a switch and handle 6V6 to KT150