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Old 08-13-2017, 08:50 AM
Rosco65 Rosco65 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BearCityUSA View Post
If I'm not mistaken the lam stack on the OPTs is significantly thicker on the 17w units. The standard having adout 1" thickness and the higher watt units being closer to 2". I top view picture should tell the tale.
Regardless of the capability of the OPT, I'm not convinced driving the snot out of the output tubes gives the best sound. I own a [15 watt opt] KT88HO and a PSE. In both cases I find my best sound is with tube combinations that give less power than I could get by going with the 5AR4/KT88 combination. In my system and to my ears I find my KT88HO sounds best with a 5U4/6V6GT combination and my PSE sounds best with KT77'. Neither combination was chosen to give more power.

My opinion is that if you need the extra power you get going from a 12wpc KT88 to a 17wpc KT88 amp you really need to step up to the PSE. That being said, the larger OPT's on the 17wpc amp may provide better bass response even at lower power, though there may be a tradeoff. I have not listened to a 17wpc amp so cannot offer my direct opinion.
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