KT88 recom. for quicksilver mini mono's

Cobra213 had compared the KR KT88s to the British Gold Lions. He owned both and when I purchased his Audion Sterling, he was going to include the British Lions, but they got damaged. He included the KRs and said they are the Lion's equal. I wish he were here to put his three cents in. He knows his tubes...warren

With all the debate on the "best" KT 88's, has anyone found them superior in the Quicksilver Mini Mono's? Personally, I know two other Audiogon members and myself who did not care for the KT 88 tubes in the Mini Mono's compared to other tubes. If you owned the amps, what was your verdict?

I only rolled KT88's in the Mini-Monos. I was quite happy with the performance of them so did not try the warmer, more tubey 6550 approach (at least that's how I'd guess they'd sound). Perhaps I was missing out, but I really liked those amps with the KT88's in them. As I said, I ended up with JJ's. Clean and punchy and versatile, those amps mated well with many speakers. What did you end up preferring, Elsneb?

Jax2, Got to wonder what you mean by "tubey 6550 approach"? In compared to KT90's yes, but in comparison to KT88's? I would think the KT88's, at least the ones I have heard, have all sounded warmer, more sparkly, and less linear than 6550's. Did you have something specific in mind?

I once tried some GE 6550 in my VAC amp. Compared the the KT88, the 6550 were rolled off and had looser bass. I would characterize the VAC stock KT88 tubes as sounding more linear in that particular application.