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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Old and Reissue Tung-sol 6550 posted by Sea Monster on January 10, 2007 at 06:08:36:
Hi Folks, I'm a new loonie here. I've been by to read about various subjects from time to time (loved the EF80 piece)and thought it might be a good time to put in my one cents worth.I have aquired a lot of tube gear over the past five or six years because I believe it gives the purest sweetest sounds available and it is neat and cool to fidget with the units.
I have HH Scotts, Dynas, Grommes, Heathkits to name a few but the pride of my pack are my Harman Kardon Citations refurbished by the master himself Jim Mc Shane. It took a few years for Jim to go through them all for me but it sure was worth it. I have a factory wired III tuner that was bought on EBay like new still in the box two Citation Is and two Citation IIs which Jim applied his kits and repair wizzardry to. This is the philosophy I came up with:
Refurbishing old audio is definately the way to go. I've had this done with Scott 299As at a pair of Dynaco ST 70s as well. The before and after difference was astounding in all cases. Not to mention the peace of mind you get knowing your gear won't turn into a light show at any moment.
Getting more to the point, I had RCA 6550s in the Citation IIs originally and they sounded great and despite what Jim says they lasted many many years. I still have them as they still test good only now they are boxed up for another day. I was lucky to get EI KT90 type Is after the rebuilds and I have to admit they ARE the best tubes for Citation IIs. I expect they to would last a long long time too but I figured since they are now scarce as hen's teeth I would husband them away with the RCAs. So, I bought a set of cryo Tung Sol 6550 re-issues (before I found out Jim was selling them. Sorry Jim!). I have to tell you WOW I love em! They were indeed a little flat at first and as you crank up the volume the clarity did suffer.
My system is in my heated Pole Barn and I've got one Citation II running four Scott Pro 100s w/ refoamed 15' woofers @16 ohms. The other Citation is driving four Scott S196Bs with 12" woofers @8ohms. I have a small 7189 powered HK ballad amp driving some old old theatre horns to top things off.
I find a way to go out there and listen to something everyday and it seems those 6550s sound better and better everytime I listen. (I find it real hard to leave and come back in the house sometimes.) As to whether the cryo does anything for the tubes I have no way to judge but they hold bias amazingly well. That may be the actual construction of the tubes which does that. So, in my opinion the reissue 6550s are OK with me! I can't say that about those sweet lovable 7189s though. Nothing can match Telefunken, Amperex, and Mullard in that catagory.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Old and Reissue Tung-sol 6550 - mooneyman 13:39:42 01/20/07 (0)
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