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What tube to use in Sonic Frontier Power 3

I know the stock Svetlana 6550C is flat sounding, I have listened to them long enough to know that. I have heard Sovet KT-88 is on the brighter side and not as refined, Svetlana KT-88 is the better choice while Tesla KT-88 is even better if reliability is not my first priority. Kevin at Upscale Audio mentioned in one of the thread Ei KT-90 sounds better than anything above but does not work well in big amps like Power 3.

Then there are Electro-Harmonix 6550 and KT-88 (just came out), but reviews on EH6550 is mixed and I would like people's feedback before I commit 16 tubes.

Also, what driver tubes work well in SF Power 3? I do have 6H23 in my Line 3 buffers, so I am thinking of using 6H23 for Power 3 as well. Is that wise or I will get better bang for the buck by using better driver tubes and ok output tubes?

Thanks for your input
davidlin
newbee
4,767 posts
 
you might try just changing the drivers lst. i use svetlana 6550c's. i had sovtek 6922's which i traded out for tesla e88cc's. the tesla's are not as cold sounding as the 6922's. by the way i have the 6h23's in my pre amp - not that much difference between them and the sovtek 6922 (nos sovteks that is - the new sovteks define cold!). in my application i found the svetlana kt88s to be very clean in the highs/mid range but i found the bass a little lightweight. have fun!
davidlin OP
23 posts
 
Thanks Newbee. I forgot to mention I like fuller and quicker sound, bass is not as critical to me as long as it sounds realistic. My rest of equipment is SF Line 3 SE, Sony SACD, VPI TNT, BAT VK-P5, and SF Amati Homage.
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