Svetlana KT-88

If you trust him to be a reputable dealer, then by all means, buy them. I have had the 70's as well as the latest Winged C tubes in my amp and I can tell you beyond a doubt, the older 70's are a much less brittle sounding. BTW, we are talking new tubes and not use. Correct?

Pass on them. Get the 6550 WC if you want that type of tube or Gold Lions are popular. I prefer the sound of the 6550 or the new KT 120's. Jallen

Griffithds,

Yes, they are new!
At the 70's, there name was also Winged C?
What about the sound, any difference with the new Winged C?

Thanks

From what I've read, back in the 70s Svetlana Winged C did exist as a brand of Russian tube produced in a factory in St. Petersburg. Sometime since, an American company, New Sensor, began buying up rights to various tube brands such as Mullard, TungSol,Svetlana and Gold Lion. They started producing tubes at their New Reflektor factory in Saratov. At this point, subsequent to legal wrangling, Svetlana and Winged C became two different brands. The Winged C part of the business becamse SED Winged C and continues to be produced in St. Petersburg. These are the "real deal"/legitmate heirs to the old Svetalana name. The Svetlana brand is now produced at the New Reflektor site and while these might be OK tubes, they along with all the other New Sensor acquired/produced brands don't really duplicate the vintage tube construction of their original namesakes. This doesn't mean they can't sound good in the right equipment and it is worth noting that very positive things are being said about the Gold Lion reissues, in particular (esp. their KT88s). Hope this helps a little. There are others more knowledgeable about tube history who will no doubt weigh in if I've badly mis-represented things.

I would look at the KT120. It's far superior sonically in both of my KT88 and 6550 amps.