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What is your favorite tube type?

With so many tubes that do different things and have different sound profiles, what is your favorite? EL34s wonderful PRaT, KT88/6550s smooth and dimensional sound, lush mids of a 300B, detail of a 2A3 or the huge soundstage of an 845? I am curious which is your favorite. What do you like about it?
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aniwolfe
760 posts
 
I love EL34’s. Smooth Highs, Engaging Mids and Rich Bass. Currently using Russian Tung Sol EL34B in my LTA ZOTL40 Power Amp.
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
Best PP low watt power tube: 6BQ5/EL84! A pair of these (15 watts) with an Altec Valencia or an Altec 19 will get you halfway to audiophile heaven! Used as a quartet in the famous Vox AC-30 guitar amp!
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
The ne plus ultra power tube: 6LF6 used as a PP sextet in the Julius Futterman hand-made H3aa OTL mono amps! I have a pair!
schubert
7,386 posts
 
6BQ5
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
I've run a lot of different KT88 and 6550 in two different amps.
They are all different but honestly not by a lot. Not enough to be worth changing tubes just for the sake of changing tubes the way a lot of guys do. That said, my favorite for its deep stage, liquid ease and lack of glare is the JJ KT88. The JJ is also one of the least expensive of all the KT88 and 6550 tubes I've tried. 

Currently running the Tube Store Preffered Series KT88. One failed dramatically within a few weeks, and they are all noisy and not nearly as refined as the JJ.
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