KT120 transformer failures

I have not heard of KT120 filament failures as you describe them nor any of the warnings you mentioned. I believe an autobias amplifier that does not have adequate plate voltage or current may experience this issue if it cannot supply adequate voltage to power the tube in the socket. Some amplifiers are set to bias with a standard tube range made for that amp, for example, my amp is optimized for KT88's, however, I can use the KT120 with my amp and when I adjust the bias manually, I only adjust for the tolerance built in for the KT88 the amp was designed for. I can, and I do, when I use a bias measurement tool, raise the ma for the KT120's, not by much though. The stock adjustment for the KT88 is around .40 and with the 120's, I have tried .55-.65 with no problems.

I did experiment using KT120's with a .75ma bias setting and that experiment was a disaster. The tubes turned black and one of the bases of the tubes separated. I have since learned to live with the lower ma settings and the stock range of the KT88's. The KT120's are lovely though. They do have a pronounced deeper bass and an even frequency response. I hope my information helps you some.

Ciao,
Audioquest4life

With the KT-120 it is strictly an issue with the filament supply.

Pretty much every KT120 sales spec/note/description including the "official" one from New Sensor has that "tube heater current filament supply or" warning. I stand warned. Audio Research along with a bunch of other amp builders have modified their transformers to handle this issue and I still had to ask...is there a melted amp someplace? I bias the KT120s to the Jolida 500mv specs (I use a voltmeter even though the Jolida "ez bias" LED thing works fine) and the KT120s sound significantly stronger in every way over the otherwise fine stock (also Tung Sol) 6550s. I even talked to Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio and he said the KT120s are selling like hotcakes and he's never heard a customer mention an actual transformer overload issue...so much for my little research project.

Hey Wolf

I can't help you answer your query but maybe the gents over at Conrad-Johnson can. The CJ Classic Sixty SE Amplifier utilizes KT120 tubes throughout. Maybe they saw the current draw issue you speak of and overcame it. From stuff I've read about them they are really good people over there and who knows they may be willing to chat with you about the KT120 transformer issues.

Info about the Classic Sixty SE.

http://www.conradjohnson.com/It_just_sounds_right/Classicsixtyse.html

Luckily there seem to be NO transformer issues with the 502P. Not yet anyway, and I assume if it was gonna die it would show some signs of impending failure. My trusty warranty is there just in case. The CJ "SE" is on a price level that begs comparison to "things that interest me" like the Cary 120SII, Audio Research VS 115 (now with 8 KT120s!) McIntosh MC275, and other stuff, but the Jolida sounds so damn good and provides me with the requisite space heater and tube glow features that apparently I now need, so I'm content with it. At around a grand new there's not a lot out there that compares.