Cary SLI-80 Signature and EL34s

The Cary SLI-80 I bought has all the original tubes. I believe it's about 3 years old and I'm not sure what kind of use it got. Either way, it's time to retube. As it stands I find it a bit harsh and I blame it squarely on the EH KT88s but the fun part is yet to come....

It's not the KT88's. I have the F1. Replace the rectifier tubes and the 6922's. I have 1950's GE rectifiers and Ediswan 6922's also from the 1950's (I think). From Upscale audio. The amp is smooth and lush but not mushy or slow. Oh yeah, I changed the Chinese 6SN7's with EH gold pins. You'll love it. Peace and Good Listening, Pat.

Akanrg- Here's the scoop on Winged 'C' tubes: (http://www.tubesandmore.com/scripts/foxweb.dll/catalog@d:/dfs/elevclients/cemirror/ELEVATOR.FXP?PAGE=SUBCAT&SEARCH_TREE01=01_TUBES&SEARCH_TREE02=00003_WINGEDC) It's good to know what iteration of a particular tube you have from them(when it was manufactured), as there have been swings in quality over the years. I'm using the latest version of the =C= 6550's and can't be happier(WELL- maybe with a matched octet of NOS TungSols.....).

Psjulian,

Thanks for the wise advice. I replaced the original Sovtek 6922 tubes with Emperex JAN 7308 and the improvement in the sound is BIG! Now it's time to find good, NOS rectifier tubes without braking the bank ;-)