OK guys, wakey wakey....................
KT88s in da house!!....................
First, I'm glad to say that Euforia has taken them - or, rather,
one at the moment as partner to an EL39 for comparison purposes - in from the cold and with a warm and hearty welcome lol, just as with the KT66...And once again, just as if this amp was actually made for these tubes!
Even with only a few hours on it, this KT88 is already showing its true colours - more quickly than the KT66 in fact. Can't believe it really, so early in proceedings. But I suspect that although new and unused, these too have had pre-burn-in before shipment from the factory/wholesaler...
nice!
Driven by the KT66, it's quite clear that this driver/power combination exceeds all expectations...and, in fact, I can't recall such a combination ever being tried before. I'm sure this is yet another discovery unique to our unconventional explorations...especially in a headphone amp!
Although too early for definitive statements of course, already I would say it takes all the virtues of the KT66 and simply augments them. Bass - as expected - is even more thunderous, without being 'bloomy'/soft; stage is on course to be even more 3-dimensional; treble is still sweet, without losing 'spice'/bite, plus just the right balance of mids (for me, anyway) all combine to give an even more dynamic overall presentation.
And all this from just one as power (with the EL39)...can't wait to see how things are with the second 88 in place of the EL39. Plus, it's still in Mrsx's adapter, with my 2x 66s as drivers also in adapters, so things can only get better when I do away with the adapters and convert the tubes directly.
And so this result has brought a sudden halt to any idea of my approaching a manufacturer to (hopefully!) make a headphone amp specifically configured for these tubes...
absolutely no need whatsoever. We already have a perfectly good vehicle for them IMHO...
here in the Euforia! By some incredible fortune, its 6SN7/6AS7G circuitry is ideal for running tubes one could never have envisaged even not all that long ago, and to a standard that echoes everything one reads about them from high-end users...especially in line with each and every upgrade made to the rest of one's system. And the icing on the cake is that we don't really need to spend silly amounts of money on hallowed NOS examples - these Russian reissue Genalex Gold Lions take Euforia to levels never reached before (even though I've said this a good few times already with other tube discoveries lol!!
...these KT tubes truly are in a class of their own, and not, obviously, just for esteemed power amps!!).
And so
@teknorob23 , you'd better get things hurried along with your new SE amp! And it looks like you're gonna have to add to your bursting tube collection after all
@connieflyer ...best get selling off some more of 'em, mon ami!!
And if more 'meat' is what you're after,
@OctavianH and
@LoryWiv , then any more than these tubes provide would surely lead to dangerous indigestion as far as I'm concerned!
...(but perhaps wait for others' findings first lol!).
Just a couple of not-very-good photos I'm afraid for now...low light levels (my excuse, anyway...) :
And one comparing the 88 on the right, to a 66 on the left.....
no difference in size!!...most unexpected
.
HAPPY LISTENING folks!...CJ
ps.
IMPORTANT WARNING/ADVICE...even though being careful, I managed to insert the tube into Mrsx's adapter without the tube's locating lug fitting/staying nicely in the socket's hole...no wonder it didn't light up!!! And when trying to remove, it was in so tight that levering it out gently still broke off the lug!
I should have suspected something wasn't right while having to push the tube in much harder than usual...
so be warned folks. Make
absolutely sure the tube's locating lug fits
snugly in its hole, and if it feels extra 'stiff', take it out, check for position and try again...This applies to all tubes when fitting into an adapter...just in case!...CJ[/QUOTE
Ahh ya beat me to it h1!
. Got a pair of the KT88 myself today too, gave them a quick two hour session this morning and out of the box they sounded fantastic, pretty much as you've experienced, very similar to the 66 but with a touch less sweetness on top and a more pronounced/deeper bass. Strangely had another two session earlier this eve and they sounded rather off, somewhat muted, hopefully burn in will solve the problem, but just going on the first two hour session they're everything the 66 is and more, time for another session!
.