mulveling, Just purchased a Set of Apollos from Upscale audio.
I found the Gold lion worked well in my M120's pretty nice as well.
Had the Zeus Years ago cant wait to get the New Guys running.
New tubes in Rogue M-180 Monoblocks
I understand the M-180s now ship with the KT-120 power tubes, instead of the KT-80. You can also simply replace the KT-80 with the KT-120 if you already own these amps. I'm curious whether anyone has done it and what their impressions are as far as the difference in sound. Is the over $300 upgrade worth it?
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@500homeruns It does. That’s a fun slot to roll because it’s so easy (one per side, no re-bias). I used MANY on Apollos over the years. Best sounding tube was Mazda (also branded Cifte, Belvu) silver plates 12AX7 if you can handle a little extra energy on top. When I had daker sounding speakers these were divine. DON’T get the Cifte 5751 silver plates, these are brightness cannons. For a bit of a warmer sound I really liked the GE 5751 TM BP "silver clips" version from ~1953. The later 50s non-"silver clips" TM BP are good too but not quite as magical. Teles are relatively plentiful (used) and sound really good, just a tier below Mazdas. The ribbed plates are similar to Mazdas. Smooth plates are a little warmer. Most RCAs tend to be a little warm, but not like Mullards. Once in a while a run into an (oddball) obscenely bright RCA which surprises me (in the trash they go). You can even throw in a 12AY7 for something different. I had a red label GE that sounded pretty good (1963 / 64 vintage on red labels). But you know what, I actually think the Russian re-issues sound really good and offer different tonal balances across the sub-brands. Mullards are warm (like real ones), Tung-Sol a little energetic up top, Gold Lions in between with a nice touch of sweetness. The good news is most tubes will sound really good and give you a (slightly) different perspective. It really boils down to personal preference and system balance. I had a few dogs (usually just too bright and lean), but they were by far the minority. |
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