Replacing 6550s with KT 88s

WOW- Singapore! I'll bet tubes ARE expensive over there. I've purchased quite a few Siemens tubes(in the past 12 years), from this vendor in West Germany. He's very reliable and sells excellent tubes: (http://myworld.ebay.com/audiotubes_de&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SELLERID&_trksid=p3984.m1543.l2533) I started dealing with him long before he sold on eBay. Yes- Rolling preamp, driver and splitters is less expensive, UNLESS your tastes lean toward the pre-1966 Siemens CCa(I use six in my system), Tung-Sol CTL/6SN7GT round plates(two) and Sylvania CHS/6SN7W tall bottles(two). The sound staging, extension, air and liquidity of these tubes is addictive(and, YEAH- I'm hooked). I'm getting sick, just thinking of what will happen, when my personal stash runs out(OUCH). Looking forward to your impressions, post-swap. Happy listening!

Sunnyboy, my amp is an ARC VS-115 which originally came stock with 6550C tubes. Since then ARC switched out to the KT-120s, which is what I used now. Bought the KT-120s from Upscale Audio. In my opinion, the KT-120s better the 6550C tubes in pretty much every way. If your amp can handle the extra current demands, consider the KT-120s. But check with the factory first!

Rodman
Check out the Well Audio Labs (Singapore)site. I reckon the prices are competitive vis a vis some other online sites.
Bifwynne
Many thanks for the tip. Will contact CJ and hopefully get a response before I set out on my travels .
Happy listening
Pradeep

I have 20 low hour cryo'd Winged C's. I went back to KT88 and much prefer them for overall warmth and sweetness. Are the Winged C's hard to find since the factory burned down?

Arthur, Kevin Deal at Upscale just sourced a whole bunch of SED 6550 C tubes. Just bought one for my ARC Ref 5 linestage. Seems to work just fine. Price is still reasonable.