A follow-up on my tube-rolling quest (20 W output trannies, Triode-strapped kT-88 Inspire amp with black glass CV-181 and SE 274B, coupled with LP-27a using 56's).
Valve Art 350B:
The good: Great bass and PRAT. Nice soundstage. Relatively higher SPL (OTBE)
The bad: Veiled mid-range. High frequency roll-off. Piano and wind instruments' timbre is off. Lacking immediacy.
Shame, because these look well-built, are large and nice-looking.
Valve Art 6550 (Westinghouse-labelled Amperex Holland 5AR4 instead of SE 274B):
Surprisingly good! Excellent bass, neat, airy mid-range, not detail-masking at all. Not harsh or too bold. This may be even better than the GL KT-88, although the latter may offer slightly more sound body at the expense of a slightly less managed bass, masking some details. The KT-88 may offer more immediacy, but I'm not sure yet. These 6550's are keepers, raising my output tube favorites cluster to 5 very nice alternatives.
Last edited by Musica Amantem; 01-21-2017 at 02:23 PM.
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