KT-88's better than EH ...


Without spending a small fortune.

I really have to say that with running all EH tubes in my Cary CAD 50MkII Monoblocks...the sound is so absolutely palpable and REAL through my Ushers. Not a trace of bothersome and fatiguing sibilance with the system tweeked from the listening seat.The bass very very good too. The EH seem to have excellent tonality, body, resolution, and great dynamics as well.

Im wondering if those who may have found a better sounding KT-88 than the EH without killing the bank account would comment on there move.

I know that I may have a nice synergistic match, and may be hard pressed to better the sonics ultimately, and I can easily live with that of course.....and have tried several NOS input 6SN7's and KT-88's....BUT..always seem to prefer the EH combo. Quite a tube!..

Would the new reissue Tung Sol KT-88 better the EH??..I hear the orig. TungSol is superb..but Im not willing to pay the frieght..and certainly the Orig. British Genelex are out.

Any info from those who have bettered the EH...please comment.

Many thanks/...Ken
kehut
JJ KT88's are very reliable and good sounding. Their plate have additional heat sinking wing. One of my friend use them in his Harman Kardon amp operating at plate voltage of 650V and they out-lasted any tubes he ever used.
I thing I've learnt: one brand of tubes that works well in one amp NOT NECESSARILY works as well in another brand of amp!
Ken, if you can search the archives here or AA or elsewhere & find out which tubes best/better suit your particular amp, you would be far better off than getting our resp. opinions (UNLESS someone w/ the same amp as yours posts a reply). Your research will probably give you a short list from which you can try tubes & that list might not incl any of the tubes listed in the VTV shoot-out!!
trying various tubes can be fun (I've done that myself) when one has time but is very painful (I've experienced this too!) grading each tube's signature when one doesn't have time or wants to simply get on w/ listening to music. In all cases, whether you like auditioning tubes & have plenty of time, I've found that a shorter tube list is always better. FWIW. IMHO. YMMV.
I believe Bombaywalla makes an excellent point about amps being voiced with certain KT88s.

In my recent journey, three KT88 tubes were heartily recommended by several audiophiles: Svetlana Winged "C", JJ Tesla, and Penta Labs KT88sc/Shuguang KT88-98.

Regarding the Penta Labs KT88sc, and the following comment that
My favorite KT88 is the KT88SC is from Penta Labs. This is also a Chinese tube by Shuguang, but is reportedly made to specs of the Genelex 88's.

This is not entirely accurate. The Penta Labs KT88sc are not made to the factory specs of Genelex KT88, nor are the Penta Labs KT88sc made with the same materials or on the same equipment as the Genelex KT88. Penta Labs has a disclaimer on their website that the Penta Labs KT88sc is designed to cosmetically resemble the Genelex KT88, and Penta Labs makes no further claims to the similarity of these two brands.

Also, I think it's intriguing that one selling point of the Penta Labs KT88sc is their similarity to the Genelex KT88, including the three oval holes in the plate, and yet folks recommend purchasing the solid plate version, which is not like Genelex KT88.

I purchased a set of Penta Labs KT88sc with three oval holes, because I found a lightly used set, and they appear to exctly match the stock VAC KT88 that came installed in my VAC Phi 110/110.
Ken, the Penta Labs KT88SC solid-plates... http://www.pentalaboratories.com/product.asp?dept%5Fid=5020&pf%5Fid=KT88SC+SHUGUANG ...are VERY highly rated by the inmates of the Tube Asylum... http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/tv.pl?forum=tubes&s=U . I suggest you SEARCH there and learn a lot.

They were selling for only $22 each recently; be sure to call them to make sure you get the closed-plate versions.
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The Penta version with the 3 holes in the plates is the KT88-98 tube that you can buy through several online outlets. Penta advised me that they substituted this tube for the solid plate "KT88SC", when they were sold out of the solid plate version. The solid plate which is the true "KT88SC" that "I believe" is sold exclusively by Penta. There's a thread on Tube Asylum in which a Penta rep confirms much of this. In any event, you have to call Penta to ensure that you get the solid plate version, if thats what you want. I haven't compared the two, but the solid plate tube is very good.