2. amps-preamps
  3. 123103-14154

should i go with kt150's now or wait a bit??

simple question folk's,    I have two jolida 502 amps running in mono.  kt120 tube's with about 200 hours. just broken in lets say.  this is almost going on two years now so I guess Im not listening as much as I should be. I will take care of that!!    the amps are running the top end of my infinity 1b speaker panel's.   mid's and high's.  no bass work here. so the question is is it worth installing kt150's at this point in time.    for $600, I would need eight of them, what kind of improvement in sound would I get.  with just 200 hrs on 120's would you run them a little longer to at least get some use out of them.   everybody like's the 150's for the solid bass they get out of them but I would not see that running the mid/tweeter panel.   what would you guy's do if you had the $600 ready to go??  (don't answer that)   can we assume in time the 150's price will drop a little more and just wait it out .   I know it's such a tough decision here, just help me out ok. thanks
tomtab
wolf_garcia
6,726 posts
 
Dweller is perky huh? Man...Keep the 120s as backup maybe…can't hurt. My trusty 120s wore out after 3 years in the aforementioned (Jedinite…dude has great taste in amps, as does tomtab) 502P, and the 150s had just become less expensive so I got a quad...in they went and after over a year they continue to sound friggin' great and I hope they last as long as the 120s.

I just read a thing in a recent UK mag (HIFI News or something) where the reviewer, who loves (I mean REALLY loves) his Audio Research Ref 75 with KT120s, reviews the new AR GSi75 integrated. He goes nuts because although the new integrated is supposed to be the same power output as his amp from the same damn company, it blows away his Ref 75 in term of power and control over his reference speakers…he's absolutely sure it's the KT150s making the difference although it is a different amp of course…still...Besides, they're shaped like pickles, they're larger, and amp designers are all over these things so what's not to like?
tomtab OP
97 posts
 
ok, now that wolf has spoken i guess i will just have to spend the dough.  what the hell, whats with another set of tubes hanging around
mesch
3,527 posts
 
Sounds like the 150s are the way to go. As Wolf stated i would keep the 120s as a back up set. Also you might want to reinstall the 120s after extended listening to the 150s to best discern the advantages of the latter.

brf
1,715 posts
 
For for your system setup, I would definitely be looking at el34 tubes if your amp can handle them. 

tomtab OP
97 posts
 
brf,   i dont think my amp will work with el34's.   i did think of them because i hear they shine on midrange and my speakers have that in spades.  I have heard though that the new 502 amps can.  maybe down the road when its time to change out amps going with something that uses the el34's.   i thank you all for your input on this and will let you know how it all works out
More to discover