I have been using the Tungsol for nearly 3 years, they have serve me well in my Cayin AMP, when my wife called and said the stereo was making weird sounds even when she changed CD, I knew that the culprit was the power tubes. Took a while to decide what tubes to get as funds were scarce as a new sub was just purchased a few days ago, But you cant use the new sub without an AMP, ARGH!! First choice was the cheaper tried and tested Tungsol 6550 ($140). but I also wanted to try out the GL KT88 ($210), WANT won over NEED, I got the GL KT88.
How do they sound ?
Tungsol 6550. These tubes are warm, bass is full, I did need to break in the tube, it sounded good right out of the box. All my CD's sounded good on this tube. even non-audiophile CD were listenable. sa tagalog, bilog" yung tunog, tubong-tubo ang dating
. The Gold Lion KT88 is a different animal, it did not have the kind of bass that the Tungsols had, the tubes required a break in, it sounded thin right out of the box. After break in (Im on the 50 hour point) it started to display its strenghts, A bit better on the bass, but still not as a powerfull as the 6550. This tube is full of detail and its tight. My Audiophile CD's sounded better. Sadly, most of my 80' , New Wave Cd and non-audiophile recording sounded a very thin on the bass. I need to radically adjust the settings on my sub to make the sound fuller. Prior to having the KT88 Tube, I wanted to put up a second system or at least add another pair of speakers that is a bit more dynamic compared to my Usher 719, The Ushers with the 6550 were warm and forgiving at the expense of hiding some details on the recording. With the addition of GL KT88, I discovered dynamics my speakers were hiding all these years. So which one is better ?
NONE, Really. They are both excellent tubes, I cannot favor one over the other, Both has strengths and weaknesses. It’s a matter of what type of music I would be playing, I prefer the Tungsol 6550 for its bass and forgiving sound and the GL KT88 for Dynamics.
