[ken]

I want to replace the tubes in my TAD 1000 monos without having to take a second mortgage out to do so.  the Amp takes el34's Kt 66-77-88 and 6550's  I currently have the EH 6ca7's which are fairly good but I'm getting the itch to do some tube rolling.  BNB tubes on ebay is selling 8 genelex kt88 reissues for approx $400.00  they also have the tungsol 6550/kt88 for $225.00 and the el34b for approx the same.  I've heard the genelex kt88's are very good tubes but are they worth almost double the price of the Tungsols?  I'm leaning towards the 6550/kt88 as I have never heard them before.  They also carry the genelex kt66's and 77's as well as the Mullard el34's reissuesl, all for roughly $300.00 would any of these be worth the extra $75.00 or so over the tungsol 6550's  any and all opinions welcome

[DaveC113]

I haven't had the best of luck with the re-issues. TS 6550s got a blue glow after 6 mo, probably gassy. I tried the Genelex kt88, they have a nice sound but the ts 6550s sounded less colored and more holographic. The el34b... one of them lost a getter after a few months. I am now running sed (winged c) el34s, no problems after 6 mo. or so. They glow blue, but do so from the start because of some properties of the metals they use. They go for about $50/pair and I like the sound a lot. I'm very happy my amp only uses 2 power tubes. 

[Berndt]

I've rolled the tubes you are looking at in a different application, so not very scientific.
My end result was the EH 6ca7, tried the mullard reissue, eh el34, and the kt66 reissue.
The eh6ca7 was decently balanced sounding and held bias well.
What is the driver tube?

[Tyson]

KT66's are probably the best tube for the $$ I've heard.  The KT88's are ultimately better sounding, but also cost more.  The KT77's were a bit thin and disappointing sounding in my app, but someone told me they open up if you bias them a bit higher (.500 instead of the standard .450).  Anyway, give the KT66's a shot, they are much better, IMO, than the EL34's.

[HT cOz]

I just put a set SED 6550 in my amp. So far so good the bass was an improvement over my old generic chinese tubes.

I had a hard time deciding and ultimately went with what seems a good balance between sonics and reputation for quality.

I also considered the Penta KT88.

[decal]

I recently installed some Gold Lion KT-88 from bnb tubes in my Rogue integrated. I am very pleased with them especially in the bass. No problems at all, at about 200 hrs.

[richidoo]

Genelex KT88    Yes it's worth it, a bargain compared to swapping cheapos for 6 months only to finally buy the good stuff.

Blue glow is good, sign of a new tube. Orange is bad, but it won't last long.

[hotroady]

I want to replace the tubes in my TAD 1000 monos without having to take a second mortgage out to do so.  the Amp takes el34's Kt 66-77-88 and 6550's  I currently have the EH 6ca7's which are fairly good but I'm getting the itch to do some tube rolling.  BNB tubes on ebay is selling 8 genelex kt88 reissues for approx $400.00  they also have the tungsol 6550/kt88 for $225.00 and the el34b for approx the same.  I've heard the genelex kt88's are very good tubes but are they worth almost double the price of the Tungsols?  I'm leaning towards the 6550/kt88 as I have never heard them before.  They also carry the genelex kt66's and 77's as well as the Mullard el34's reissuesl, all for roughly $300.00 would any of these be worth the extra $75.00 or so over the tungsol 6550's  any and all opinions welcome

                                                                                          The EH EL34/6AC7 is a turd. Flabby bass, flat mid range, with a little piercing thrown in at the top. They should have been relabeled Dullard to compete with the relabeled Mullard. I have a quad of old GE fat bottles, one of them is wounded. The GE is a fabulous tube! Ordered fresh JJ EL34L's. If you can hold off a couple days, I'll let you know how the JJ's compare. Oh and they are 54.00 for matched quad, through Eurotubes.

[rklein]

HI:

I run four Genelex KT-88's on a ST-120 (Bob Latino).  Sounds great!  I use Virginia Tube Audio.  I had a problem with one KT-88 and the owner swapped out ALL FOUR as he said I had paid for a matched quad set, so I sent all four back and got four new matched tubes.  This after over 3 months of use.

rklein

[ken]

Thanks for all the responses.  Interesting to hear the comments about the EH 6ca7's  which I am currently using.  My impression of them thus far has been rather non-descript, average but nothing special.   Be sure to post your findings of the JJ's the price sure sounds good.  I would probably like to try the Genelex kt 88 reissues but $400.00 is a little steep right now.  I've been reading some pretty good reviews of the Kt66's as well and they're about $100.00 cheaper

[Tyson]

KT66's and KT88's are both "da bomb", IMO.  They just sound fuller, bigger, more dynamic, and more real than any other new-production tubes I've heard.

[Kpt_Krunch]

Blue glow is good, sign of a new tube. Orange is bad, but it won't last long.

Can you explain this a bit more? All my tubes glow orange, and all the pic's I've seen of other peoples tube gear (for the most part) glow orange. Plus, all the tubes I've seen in action in the store glow orange. I was told purple is bad, orange is good. Don't confuse me

[dmatt]

Ken,

I've tube rolled Genalex Gold Lion KT66s into a Melody SP3 (replacing stock 5881s) and Genalex KT88s into a Melody I880 (replacing stock KT88s).  Both were a nice improvement.  Bass had more impact and midrange gained richness without being congested, and I felt there was no loss in upper end clarity and detail.

I got mine from Cryoset:

http://www.cryoset.com/catalog/index.php?manufacturers_id=27&osCsid=c9f64999767c8941bb1d8e743ad09177

While we could discuss the merits of cryoing tubes, I like Cryoset because the price and customer service were solid.

A cryo'd matched Genalex Gold Lion KT88 Quad $239.99
A cryo'd matched Genalex Gold Lion KT77 Quad $169.99
A cryo'd matched Genalex Gold Lion KT66 Quad $149.99

No affiliation, blada blada.

I have since sold the SP3 and have two matched quads of Gold Lion KT66's lying around.  PM me if you would like to try them.

David

[mgalusha]

I recently picked up a matched quad of the Penta Labs KT88SC solid plates. I am using them in a Mac 275 and they are better than anything else I have, Svet, Sovtek and EH and some Svet 6550's as well. They are made by Shuguang and are supposed to be equivalent to the Genelex. No idea if this is true but they sound great. Purchased from www.dougstubes.com, $180 for a quad, free shipping. I ordered at night and they shipped in the morning priority mail, great service. No affiliation, just a happy customer.

[dmatt]

Ken (OP),

I received your PM and would love to talk, but for the life of me I can't get my PM to work  .  I added my email to my profile.  Would you please ping me that way?

Sorry for the interruption.  Please continue on with the discussion .

David

[ken]

David,

I viewed your profile but I don't see an email address anywhere,  do the profile updates take effect immediately?  I wouldn't be shocked if I was looking in the wrong place though.  Let me know.

Ken