ARC Galileo GSPre vs ARC Reference 5 SE ? ....

Here ya go: I read an article last night reviewing the GS150/GSpre in the Jan Hi-fi
News & Record Review...the reviewer liked pretty much everything except the
response of the meters on the GS150, and thought it was better than the REF150
he had for comparison...he suggested sticking KT150s in the REF to make it
better. As a recent convert from KT120s to KT150s (in my relatively el-cheapo
but world beater Jolida 502p) I can say the 150s are killer tubes and really deliver
the mojo (you know what I mean).

As my careful survey of KT120s and KT150s has shown, no amp in the history of the universe (many billions of years) has been damaged by these tubes, assuming an amp was originally designed for similar but lower heater current draw. Many respectable (unlike myself) reviewers, technical experts, pole dancers, vegan nuns, and convicted felons have recommended 150s as "drop in replacements." Also, I've bought matched and tested 120s and 150s for a LOT less than Kevin Deal sells them for (or ARC who seem to be holding many of their fans by their seemingly tiny balls) and all have worked perfectly.

Here's what you can do...buy a pile of factory matched 150s from the cheapest Ebay seller with a good rating (I bought a quad for 260 bucks or so), take your old tubes out of your amp, stick the 150s into the recently vacated tube sockets, adjust the bias, and listen to some music...this could go a long way toward alleviating stress regarding these things, and perhaps stop most of the ARC related whining except that which regards the silly price you paid for the amp.