KT88 Tubes, What is your favorite and why

the4thlast1

the4thlast1

Well-known member
Title says it all ... I have my preferences for 6L6 and EL34 but havent had a chance to try many KT88s . Anyone compare different brands such as Gold Lion , JJ , EH , Chinese ...etc etc ? Thanks for any info !
 
I've only tried Sovtek's, JJ's and Ruby KT88V-STR's.
The JJ's were too spongy for me and my least favorite. The bass just seemed too flubby and not very crisp.
The Sovtek's and Ruby's act very similar in my amp but the Ruby's are a little more powerful. I'm liking the Sovtek's the most though, at the moment.

~Troy
 
Fryette support recommended the EH when I asked them. They said they are the most consistent and reliable of what’s available at the moment.
 
Yeah I know tubes suck , reliability is always an issue...BUT I wanna know whats the best sounding current production KT88 for high gain. Tight bass , nice compression , good mids etc etc
 
Mine are KT88's EHX at the moment but I desperately need to get more. I usually go JJ for E34L's (favorite power tubes) and JJ's for both EL84 and 6L6's. I have a lot of NOS/VOS stuff but honestly I don't really use them. I am saving them.

I am honestly not sure how I feel about JJ KT88's, I have had them, but they didn't last as long as the EHX and gold lions I have had.
 
Mine are KT88's EHX at the moment but I desperately need to get more. I usually go JJ for E34L's (favorite power tubes) and JJ's for both EL84 and 6L6's. I have a lot of NOS/VOS stuff but honestly I don't really use them. I am saving them.

I am honestly not sure how I feel about JJ KT88's, I have had them, but they didn't last as long as the EHX and gold lions I have had.
 
Hey, it's not a negative comment. I, like many who play heavy stuff prefer kt88s that in the past impressed those who have actually played killer, high end and beautiful sounding kt88s but it's just not worth it when they just don't hold up.
 
exo-metal":1iiusgty said:
Hey, it's not a negative comment. I, like many who play heavy stuff prefer kt88s that in the past impressed those who have actually played killer, high end and beautiful sounding kt88s but it's just not worth it when they just don't hold up.
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It's the unfortunate truth with many if not all of the new production tubes today. I would always recommend looking for good used vintage power and pre tubes, that's all I've used for 15 years and the only tube failures I've had were 2 pre tubes, Chinese Bs from 89.

For KT88s the only experience I've had were a pair of Winged C, and that's not fair because we all know how great the Cs are. I got lucky with the used D60 I bought, came with them. The D120 I had came with 6550s.
 
When I had my Sig-X, I swapped the stock Sovteks for Shuguang kt88-98's. They were super good sounding and rugged. I also got a pair of Winged-c kt88's which could not handle at all. So that's my experience.
 
I recommend the Sovteks or EH's, 6550 and KT88's they sound good and are pretty reliable. I had issues with Chinese Valve arts 6550's going bad quickly, not sure if it was a one time issue, I won't use them again.

I'm still running an old set of winged C 6550's that keep on going in my 2203.

The JJ KT88 is actually described as a compressed Low end on Eurotubes, which they have and it translates to a looser flubby low end and slightly warmer sounding. I did not care for the low end detail of the JJ myself.
 
exo-metal":1ef3dets said:
Hey, it's not a negative comment. I, like many who play heavy stuff prefer kt88s that in the past impressed those who have actually played killer, high end and beautiful sounding kt88s but it's just not worth it when they just don't hold up.
Click to expand...
Least some retailers have a 6 month warranty now... better than nothing, right?
 
Go with the Tubestore, but get the preferred series KT88.
6 month warranty and, when I used them in my Twin Jet, they sounded fabulous.
 
Never had reliability issues with new tubes. Not sure why some people do, but that sucks. I would hate to have to keep changing failing tubes.
 
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