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rogue audio m150 owners

I have rogue audio m150 monos that are a little over a year old , today I measured my power tubes on a tube tester and I was suprised that my tubes were barely testing "good" . they seemed to have lost most of there power. the tubes are EH kt88s . is this normal ? how many hours is average for this type of tube ? I am new to the world of tubes and I thought I would get 3-5000 hours of good use before needed replacement. Also, have any m150 owners tried any different brands of tubes? Is there one that stands out from the others? please help ! thanks and happy listening!
chrissain
chrissain OP
470 posts
 
hey guys !!! Thanks for such prompt replies ! I will try to respond to your answers with the least amount of typing possible. first off, my amps are plugged into a shunyata hydra 8, so I dont think thats the issue. I have also tried the bel canto ref 1000 monos, I like the rogues better with my system,although the bass was more controlled
with the bel cantos. I have revel f32s for speakers and I was really interested in the dynaudios, somthing in the contour line, but that is getting ahead of myself. What is about the EH kt88 sound that you dont like ? the problem is I want my cake and eat it too ! I love clear open sound , but not at the expense of body in the midrange or
thinner sound. I have heard other people who dont like the
new genelex tubes, So what is it that you like about them ?
I was thinking about some SED kt88s, anybody heard them?
last off, Jsbail, what did you retube with ? was your amps blowing tubes , or was the sound not as good after a year ?
thanks for all your answers !!! Chrissain
yioryos's avatar
yioryos
723 posts
 
My Rogue M-150's are connected to a JC Audio ISO 1100VA power conditioner and use stock EH tubes.I use my system on weekends only and have no isues with tubes failing.I don't have a tube tester so I am not sure how strong my tubes would read.Speakers are the Aerial 10T .The sound is fabulous and I highly doubt any digital amp can come close to that sound.Just last night I was listening to "Elvis Greatest Jukebox Hits" on CD and the soundstage was wide,deep and clear with different instruments sounds floating around.I could easily hear the breath on Elvis Presley during lyrics.Enjoy your amps.
George
steidlguitars
90 posts
 
> What is about the EH kt88 sound that you dont like?

I like them fine, but I felt the Penta Labs were better in just about every way. When new they also test much higher than the EHs, so in general it sounds like they just produce more power. Definitely not thinner sounding.

I have not yet tried the Genelex tubes, but 3-4 people I know that have tried them prefer them. They are next for me.

> I was thinking about some SED kt88s, anybody heard them?

I have a set and they look EXACTLY like the Penta Lab tubes and I don't know but bet they are made in the same factory as the Pentas.

For what it is worth, I bought the set I have from a guy who clearly preferred the Genelex tubes.

Bob
cyclonicman
693 posts
 
Chrissain- Tube testers are notorious for being out of calibration which would give you the wrong readings. If you are confident that your tube tester is up to snuff than just ignore this. You might consider testing a brand new tube to see what reading you get on your tester.
chrissain OP
470 posts
 
thanks, Cyclonicman ,sometimes it easy to overlook whats right in front of you !! the tube tester works well with smaller tubes ie 12ax7 testing from bad to great depending on the tube,but all the kt88s I have tested weak. maybe there is somthing wrong with the socket for the kt88 on the hichcock tube tester. thanks for the tip and happy listening ! chrissain
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