"Most people, me among them, prefer the EL34 over the KT66 (and 6L6/5881)"
Trelja, I wouldn't say most.
9 out 10 audiophiles I know around NYC prefer the KT66 ( none chinese nor Russian ) over the EL34 ( all types )
Amp has a lot more to do with the tube.
Maybe most of the EL34 amps I've heard are less musical to our ears than the KT66/7027/6L6GC type of amps.
The only exception to our ears is the Vintage Marantz 9 PP amp from the 60s. That's the only EL34 amps we really like. Powerful yet musical ( except for the price tag.)
However, we did easily find many other KT66/7027/6L6GC and EL84 amps ( use it on higher efficiency speakers ) that sounded much better than the rest of the EL34 amps.
One should focus on the amp design and not the tube choice.
Trelja, I wouldn't say most.
9 out 10 audiophiles I know around NYC prefer the KT66 ( none chinese nor Russian ) over the EL34 ( all types )
Amp has a lot more to do with the tube.
Maybe most of the EL34 amps I've heard are less musical to our ears than the KT66/7027/6L6GC type of amps.
The only exception to our ears is the Vintage Marantz 9 PP amp from the 60s. That's the only EL34 amps we really like. Powerful yet musical ( except for the price tag.)
However, we did easily find many other KT66/7027/6L6GC and EL84 amps ( use it on higher efficiency speakers ) that sounded much better than the rest of the EL34 amps.
One should focus on the amp design and not the tube choice.