Got a big surprise from my Inspire KT88 HO amp tonight. I picked up a couple of the 1970s Russian military 6H8C tubes, which are 6SN7 equivalents. I decided to burn one of them in, leaving the other in the box for an eventual comparison of brand new vs burned in. I didn't want to burn up a lot of hours on a set of the good power tubes, so I installed a pair of new production EH 6CA7. I listened to them for a few hours many months ago and found them okay but nothing special.
Popped in a CD and to my surprise, a big warm tubby bass sound came out. By far the most bass emphasis I've ever heard out of the amp. My vintage USA 6CA7 fat bottles have always had a bit of extra mid-bass energy, I like using them when listening to blues and three piece jazz combos. This combo goes well beyond that.
The bass isn't as powerful, deep or well-defined as when I'm using KT150 or KT120 tubes.
When I had the 6H8C paired with the KT150s, I had noticed a bit more bass emphasis.
I'm going to let this combo run for a few days. Run in these tubes. Already listened to two CDs taking note of the different presentation. Need to get out some blues and turn my living room into a nightclub.
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