In KT88’s I’ve run Svetlana, JJ, Tung-Sol, and Melody. At least they say Melody. But its a Melody amp, probably they screen it on, who knows who made the tube.
Before the Melody, in my Aronov we ran all those same brands of tubes, except that amp would run 6550 or KT88 so both were tried.
What I can say, its not that there aren’t differences between tubes. There are definitely differences between tubes. But to what degree? That is the question. My answer is, not much. I can get about the same degree of change by spraying anti-static, or demagnetizing. I can get the same or more by putting up just one HFT or sticking one ECT on the amp. A whole lot less than one Blue Quantum Fuse.
So the difference between a set of the cheapest JJ at $178 and the most expensive Tube Store at $272 is about $100 which is in line with other things one could do.
This is when comparing relatively new tubes. Obviously according to what I just posted, comparing really old worn tubes to new ones is a whole different story. A lot of what people are hearing rolling tubes may really come down to differences in age, warm-up, etc. Its not always that close but in my experience it has been.
Now with relatively new tubes (Tube Store matched JJ’s, actually the cheapest ones!) listening last night I heard a whole lot more inner detail, dynamics and good old tubey magic than my old tubes had been giving me. While tubes have proven reliable over the nearly 30 years I’ve been running them, still don’t like being without a spare set. So I just ordered a matched set of the Tube Store brand KT88.
Before the Melody, in my Aronov we ran all those same brands of tubes, except that amp would run 6550 or KT88 so both were tried.
What I can say, its not that there aren’t differences between tubes. There are definitely differences between tubes. But to what degree? That is the question. My answer is, not much. I can get about the same degree of change by spraying anti-static, or demagnetizing. I can get the same or more by putting up just one HFT or sticking one ECT on the amp. A whole lot less than one Blue Quantum Fuse.
So the difference between a set of the cheapest JJ at $178 and the most expensive Tube Store at $272 is about $100 which is in line with other things one could do.
This is when comparing relatively new tubes. Obviously according to what I just posted, comparing really old worn tubes to new ones is a whole different story. A lot of what people are hearing rolling tubes may really come down to differences in age, warm-up, etc. Its not always that close but in my experience it has been.
Now with relatively new tubes (Tube Store matched JJ’s, actually the cheapest ones!) listening last night I heard a whole lot more inner detail, dynamics and good old tubey magic than my old tubes had been giving me. While tubes have proven reliable over the nearly 30 years I’ve been running them, still don’t like being without a spare set. So I just ordered a matched set of the Tube Store brand KT88.