Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by x3workshop

Mesa always spec'd very good quality tubes from, even from Chyna, in the early days so I'm not surprised to hear good reports on them in this forum and elsewhere.

Curious how soon the KT150 died on you? I've already put about 75 hours on these and they're sounding very nice.

Agree on the Mesa tubes. They are excellent performers. There is noting wrong with new production tubes. They simply need to be thoroughly tested.

I think the KT150 was damaged in shipment. The tubes were not very well packed. They have long filaments and they must be rather delicate. Unfortunately, I was working on the road and the return period passed before I used them.

[Musica Amantem]

While considering EL-34 possibilities (due to my amazing experience with the GL KT77), I found the following (hopefully unbiased) review. The author claims the GL KT77, Shuguang Black Treasure 6CA7-Z and even Tung-Sol's EL34 B to beat Mullard reissue EL34. The Shuguang, great as it may be, is too expensive!

http://blog.thetubestore.com/audioph...be-comparison/

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by Musica Amantem

While considering EL-34 possibilities (due to my amazing experience with the GL KT77), I found the following (hopefully unbiased) review. The author claims the GL KT77, Shuguang Black Treasure 6CA7-Z and even Tung-Sol's EL34 B to beat Mullard reissue EL34. The Shuguang, great as it may be, is too expensive!

http://blog.thetubestore.com/audioph...be-comparison/

From the review, "I do not belong to the Church of the NOS Mind; in my experience two of the least satisfactory of my 6L6s and 5881s are ‘Holy Grail’ US-made NOS tube from the 1960s."

I agree. The amps he used were single ended. He liked the Tube Amp Doctor 6L6/5881 too. The Treasure 6CA7's can be had for less but I'll stick with their KT66z.

[Musica Amantem]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

From the review, "I do not belong to the Church of the NOS Mind; in my experience two of the least satisfactory of my 6L6s and 5881s are ‘Holy Grail’ US-made NOS tube from the 1960s."

I agree. The amps he used were single ended. He liked the Tube Amp Doctor 6L6/5881 too. The Treasure 6CA7's can be had for less but I'll stick with their KT66z.

Yes, but the KT-66z, which to me is fabulous, is not that good in the mid-range as the KT-77, and probably the 6CA7z (which is supposed to be equivalent). But, the tradeoff is in the evenly-distributed presentation of the KT-66z across frequencies and its better bass management. Choices ... choices! Once one nails a winner combination which raises SQ a notch or two, it becomes addictive, wondering what is out there than can improve things further ... Man o man.

Yet another comparison on the EL-34 tube family (this may be somewhat biased): http://www.thetubestore.com/Resource...4-Review-Chart
Their conclusion (aside from their own "Preferred Series"), the Tung-Sol EL-34B is top dog, beating the GL KT-77 (which I question how can that be possible).

Another observation comes from Upscale Audio on the GL KT-77: "These tubes seem to take a bit longer to break in than some other power tubes, so if they sound a little lightweight in the bass, you have to give them time. Some guys are reporting at least 100 hours before the fully come into their own."

Which means the only drawback I've found on the otherwise perfect (for me) GL KT-77 (less than ideally managed bass) may not even be a drawback, after all. I'm certainly in the initial stage of this tube's burnin process, so I have hopes for the bass to redeem itself. There's some magic going on in the Triode-strapped Inspire amp with the KT-77/EL-34/6CA7 midrange I don't want to miss due to a weak bass. Even now, in its initial burnin phase, the body of sound is not unlike the KT-66z and Kinkless Tetrodes in general, so if that bass comes alive, I'll be done searching, I swear!

Finally, this experience makes me wonder why Dennis swears by 6V6 and KT 88's. I think he's inclined to the Pentode design's dynamics more than the "old man's Triode approach". This may explain what otherwise (in the Triode-wired units) seems unbelievable. In my amp, the 6V6 does not even compete and the KT-88, which is very musical, rythmic and with a full body of sound, is too bold in Triode wiring for it to really provide high resolution of the nuances which make the presentation so much more 3D and real.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by Musica Amantem

Yes, but the KT-66z, which to me is fabulous, is not that good in the mid-range as the KT-77, and probably the 6CA7z (which is supposed to be equivalent). But, the tradeoff is in the evenly-distributed presentation of the KT-66z across frequencies and its better bass management. Choices ... choices! Once one nails a winner combination which raises SQ a notch or two, it becomes addictive, wondering what is out there than can improve things further ... Man o man.

Yet another comparison on the EL-34 tube family (this may be somewhat biased): http://www.thetubestore.com/Resource...4-Review-Chart
Their conclusion (aside from their own "Preferred Series"), the Tung-Sol EL-34B is top dog, beating the GL KT-77 (which I question how can that be possible).

Another observation comes from Upscale Audio on the GL KT-77: "These tubes seem to take a bit longer to break in than some other power tubes, so if they sound a little lightweight in the bass, you have to give them time. Some guys are reporting at least 100 hours before the fully come into their own."

Which means the only drawback I've found on the otherwise perfect (for me) GL KT-77 (less than ideally managed bass) may not even be a drawback, after all. I'm certainly in the initial stage of this tube's burnin process, so I have hopes for the bass to redeem itself. There's some magic going on in the Triode-strapped Inspire amp with the KT-77/EL-34/6CA7 midrange I don't want to miss due to a weak bass. Even now, in its initial burnin phase, the body of sound is not unlike the KT-66z and Kinkless Tetrodes in general, so if that bass comes alive, I'll be done searching, I swear!

Finally, this experience makes me wonder why Dennis swears by 6V6 and KT 88's. I think he's inclined to the Pentode design's dynamics more than the "old man's Triode approach". This may explain what otherwise (in the Triode-wired units) seems unbelievable. In my amp, the 6V6 does not even compete and the KT-88, which is very musical, rythmic and with a full body of sound, is too bold in Triode wiring for it to really provide high resolution of the nuances which make the presentation so much more 3D and real.

I honestly believe that personal preference is the biggest factor in 'the best tube' game. I simply prefer the 6L6/6550 type. I like the GL KT77 too it has a 3D midrange. I may have to try the Tung Sol EL34B..just because.
The Tube Store reviews were in guitar amps.

Dennis just may prefer 6V6 and KT88's. I'll try some 6V6's again soon.

[Rosco65]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

I honestly believe that personal preference is the biggest factor in 'the best tube' game. I simply prefer the 6L6/6550 type. I like the GL KT77 too it has a 3D midrange. I may have to try the Tung Sol EL34B..just because.
The Tube Store reviews were in guitar amps.

Dennis just may prefer 6V6 and KT88's. I'll try some 6V6's again soon.

Dennis expressed a strong preference for the KT77 in the PSE.

[Musica Amantem]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

I honestly believe that personal preference is the biggest factor in 'the best tube' game. I simply prefer the 6L6/6550 type. I like the GL KT77 too it has a 3D midrange. I may have to try the Tung Sol EL34B..just because.
The Tube Store reviews were in guitar amps.

Dennis just may prefer 6V6 and KT88's. I'll try some 6V6's again soon.

I thought those belong to different families (i.e., 6L6/6550)?

The VA 6550 is another nice surprise: Less detail-masking than the KT-88 with almost all the good features. It is probably too soon to judge it as I have not listened to these for more than 4 hours and they may keep improving some.

As you can probably tell, I'm having more fun than ever with the Inspire combo!

[x3workshop]

The TS EL34B is another nice tube. I've only run it in a PP UL amp, so I can't comment on what it may sound like in the Inspire, but it has sweet midrange and good bass control in that amp. Well built.

The amp in question was a Cayin TA30 with full Bizzy Bee mods. Able to run triode too, but never tried those tubes in triode mode.

[Musica Amantem]

Noted, thanks. I believe FloridaBoy will be trying those soon and I'm sure he'll report back.

[pstrisik]

I ordered a pair of new production GL KT77 given the chatter here. I'll be comparing to the Mullard EL34 Xf2 reissue and vintage GL KT77.

I like the lower cost of experimenting!