tubes in a 200s

[scott-o]

HI

i noticed that in general people are saying to go with the jj kt88's on this amp. buti wondered if anyone had tried others? like maybe the svetlana kt88 or teh EH kt 88 or kt 90?

i have a jcm 800 with svetlanas and it sounds better thatn any other type ive had in there. adn i also have a traynor bass head with jj e34ls which sounds very good.

i recently bought the 200s used adn it has RCA tubes in it. in genral im a bit disapointed with it compared to teh traynor YBA1A Mk II i have. the sound is sort of weak. (in comparison, but it still sounds decent enough). but i figured maybe putting soem new tubes in might improve the situation.

any input is welcome.

[stanner]

well hopefully you know that you have to re bias the amp w/ each power tube change.
that said i think you have to try a bunch and see what sounds the best to YOU-not me or anyone else.
only you can determine what tubes sounds good.
also new tubes take awhile to get broken in...and they sound best when they are just about to blow-which can take weeks-months and sometimes years.
good luck
s

[scott-o]

yes obviously it would be best to try out every tube on the merket. unfortunately i am strapped for cash. which was my original reason for wondering. i can find pairs of eh kt88's or 90s for about 45 bucks but the cheapest i can find jj's is about 35 per tube.

also yes i do know to re bias when you change tubes. but thanks for reminding me.

i guess i was jstu seeing if anyone woudl say something liek "i used the sveltana ht88s and my amp soudned like poo"

although even that is subjective.

 

[Soundmasterg]

I used to have a '67 200S with cabinet, all original too. When the original old stock Tung-Sol 6550's died, I put in some JJ's and they sounded so good that I decided I liked them a lot. I sold that setup to get an SVT, but a couple years ago I got another 200S that I completely went through, and it had old stock GE 6550A's in it. I put some more JJ KT88's in it and it livened it up considereably. I've heard a Sunn 200S with pre-war EI KT90's and it sounded good, but the JJ's sounded better to my ears. I've heard good reports of the EH KT88, the Winged C/SED/Svetlana KT88 (not the New Sensor made Svetlana mind you), and the Winged C/SED/Svetlana 6550C. I've got the 6550C's in my SVT and they're great in there. All the tubes you mentioned are good quality, long-lasting, and good sounding tubes. If price is the most important thing, then get the cheaper ones. At Antique Electronics Supply, http://www.tubesandmore.com/ , the JJ is cheaper than the Winged C KT88 by a couple dollars, and they're on sale right now.

[scott-o]

ok. thanks for the link to that store.

i am really impressed with both svetlana and jj tubes that i have bought in the past.  although this is the first amp i have that isnt set up to run el34's so it might be a differnt story. which is why i was asking.

after i decide what im doing ill update with some opinions/results.