EH KT88's??

[jockman]

Another tube maker claiming that their tube is the best, but the EH-KT88 seems to be getting good reviews, so, anyone tried them? I am a wee bit wary only because they seem to be the cheapest. If you have any recommendations for NEW production KT88's please voice them.

Many thanks,

Jon

[mooreamps]

I'm doing a 36 watt SE project using a KT-88, but my selection was the Winged C from Svetlana.

-g

[jlummaa]

I have a feeling that actually not many new production KT88 are very bad. I have used JJ, Shuguang and i am willing to add SED (Winged C) too as i have used their 6550C (and which is wonderful), all these KT88 have been great.

[jockman]

Thanks for the input. I have them in my amp, but it needs some serious work, not enough volts to get them biased properly, a strange thing I noticed was, one of them was red-plating with a slight blue glow, the other was normal looking. Does this mean a fault with valves or is my amps innards screaming in protest?

Jon

[mooreamps]

It could be a bad valve.. You need to measure all the voltages off both power valves and see if they match. Else, you have some trouble-shooting to do.

-g





Thanks for the input. I have them in my amp, but it needs some serious work, not enough volts to get them biased properly, a strange thing I noticed was, one of them was red-plating with a slight blue glow, the other was normal looking. Does this mean a fault with valves or is my amps innards screaming in protest?

Jon

[jockman]

The amp has been booked in to the tech. This is beyond my ability :-)
All I know is, the KT88/6550 sound gorgeous in the amp, and getting it set up properly can only make it better.

Jon

[Joe F]

I use KT88's a lot. I would avoid the Chinese stuff with the better options that Russia has. What amp is this?

The blue glow is fine. If the plates are actually turning red, that is not fine!

I like the EH, and it is reliable overall. To avoid a lot of BS, (you can't rely on their QC), I recommend always buying from someone who tests them and matches them at high voltage for current draw. It weeds out the dummies and gives you a matched pair for guitar use. Even EH's platinum matching is not that good.

EH and the Russian Gold Lion labelled KT88's sound good and have been reliable for me.

JJ's are reliable and are a tad darker with a more compressed high end. Good though.

SED/Winged C - reliable but I think the high end is harsher. It might be the toughest one of the new production models.

I did not care for the Sovtek, but I tried it 6 years ago. I think at the time it was a 6550 in curved glass.

[jockman]

My amp is an old Carlsbro 50Top combo, a VERY underrated amp, the simplicity of its innards makes it a great amp to mod, hence the reason I am now onto KT88's. I have bought a Pair (matched) of EH Kt88's based solely on reviews. A lot of people recommend the Chinese valves, so, as usual in this scenario, it all comes down to your own ears.

Jon