[OldTube Guy]

Originally Posted by khashmi

There are certain events in life that get permanently etched in to the far recesses of your soul. You can’t shake them. You live them over and over again. Every detail preserved, every second accounted for, every emotion perfectly recallable.

Yesterday, was one such event.

After breaking-in the KT-88 SEP for 2 weeks and just over 170 hours, curiosity got the better of me and I took out the Psvane’s KT-88s that I received with the amp and popped in the Pope 6V6’s that I had bought even before the amp arrived. To be honest, I’ve been so happy with KT-88’s that I was ready for the Popes to sound anemic in my rig, regret getting pumped up about the sonic superiority of the lower output tube, and figure out a way to recoup my funds. At the same, I was curious since so many members here seemed to like it (I’ve read the entirety of the Inspire thread on AA and the last 200 pages twice) and in my communication with Dennis, he basically said:

“If you want to impress your neighbors (KT-88) but if you want 24/7 sonic bliss (6V6).”

There was another self-serving reason for this experiment. I’m in line for Decware’s 6 watt SET and I wanted to gauge whether that was a stupid idea. I figured, the approx. 5 wpc 6V6 should give me a crude approximation.

Hmm. How to describe it? To say that I was completely bowled over by the 6V6 would be an understatement. This tube gave me literal goosebumps. I kid you not. It completely, and utterly smoked the KT-88’s in my rig from the word go (well technically, I gave it 20 min to warm up). So what changed:

Soundstage expanded to the extent that I felt that my room was restricting it!
The bass (I can’t get over this one) was as good if not better then the KT-88’s. How in the world is that possible? Head scratcher, this.
It sounded for lack of a better word…more musical? I know I’m using a cliché but that’s what happens when you’re at a loss for words.
Vocals, which were already amazing with KT-88’s became decidedly holographic, and on one track, I could hear the singer 30’ degrees to my right and I sit a good 14 ft from my speakers. I nearly jumped out of my skin when that happened.

I could swear I was hearing some micro-details in songs that I didn’t hear before or was it just better imaging of instruments (a win win either way)?

Also, the tonality of the instruments (already good to begin with) sounded—-just right. Sweet-spot hit—and then some.

It’s not like the KT-88’s were bad. They were very good and win hands down in the looks/glow dept. No contest there. But in musicality, they got bested and humbled by the 6V6. I even brought my son down to the basement to hear one track and let me just put this way. I could make out his flabbergasted look even with the lights off.

All in all, it was such an out of body experience that I had trouble falling asleep last night. When I woke up all groggy this morning, I began to second guess myself thinking maybe I dreamt it all up so I decided to repeat the experiment today. To my relief, it sounded just as magical as the night before. Told Dennis and he basically said…about time (and told you so!). He encouraged me to share my experience with the AA group and I assured him that I was already planning to. I just wanted him to know first.

Thanks Dennis. I’m Inspired!

6V6G and 6L6G and GAs are sublime too. IMHO, you don't need the Decware amp. Put those funds toward an Inspire LP2030 preamp and take your system to another level.