I'm a first time tube amp owner. I have quite a collection of vintage monster receivers, including a class -A vintage collection of McIntosh items.
The Audio Research VM-220 uses Svetlana, Gold Lion, Tung Sol, and other brands. Are there any Audio Research owners who can tell me from experience which of these brands fare best. Also, can you upgrade to kt 120s, or is it best to just stick with the 6550s and kt-88s.
The Audio Research VM-220 uses Svetlana, Gold Lion, Tung Sol, and other brands. Are there any Audio Research owners who can tell me from experience which of these brands fare best. Also, can you upgrade to kt 120s, or is it best to just stick with the 6550s and kt-88s.
Hello 21st century. I don't have any ARC amps (though my hand builds are using some of their ideas. Started building in the 80s). I do have 2 ARC pre amps. Your question is... is there a best tube brand? And then can I use KT 120 (or even expand to KT 150). The KT 120 is a plug in replace for the 6550 and KT88. However, it uses more heater current. So you have to check that your power transformer can handle it. I have never seen anyone say that the slight addition causes problems. And a major retailer says they guarantee KT120s work anywhere (that's on them). So you are probably OK. The KT-150, is this same condition but by a good bit larger margin. I'd say no there, unless ARC explicitly says yes to you. In my many years of experience, all the tubes sound a little different, even the worst don't suck. So in many ways, it depends on your ears and your system. But, I've used all of the current production tubes in these families and I like them all, each with their own strengths. I don't think you'll go wrong. I'd experiment and try at least a few brands. Worst case if you don't like them, resell and lose a few bucks. Move on. The one noticeable difference from modern tubes vs old USA and Euro power tubes is, the heater/cathodes (at least for me) usually burn out much faster than the old tubes did. But the quality and sound on modern made tubes, is really good. It's not the dark ages of the 90s. Good luck and have fun trying tubes! Just make sure to keep them properly biased.
Thanks for helping me out. There is so much talk about tube brands, substitutes and upgrades from the original Svetlana 6550's, i was also confused when it came to can you upgrade to KT-88's or even the 120's.
I am not one of those fans of the old Svetlana tubes. They come from the dark ages of the 90s. I sold all of the ones I had. On the 6550/KT88/KT120... they are more or less interchangeable. The 6550 is a 35W max plate dissipation and the KT88 usually has a couple extra fins and bumps it to 42W. The KT120 bumps that to 60W. It won't change the power you get out of your amp, but it means the upper tubes might last longer in the same circuit. Again, my opinion there is the heater and cathode coating is designed to wear out. Modern life. And the plate dissipation won't matter. The good news is all the new production tubes are pretty good. Congrats on your new tube amp. You won't go back.