Ayon Audio Forum- all questions and suggestion

Thanks for the interesting thread. Since its in the amp/preamp section I'll limit my comments to that topic. I'll kick things off by saying that I own an Ayon Spirit II. That said, I've been enjoying a fair amount of tube rolling...both power and signal. I read here on another Ayon thread that you couldn't/shouldn't substitute 6550s for the KT88s. Well, I have been .....and couldn't be happier. I've rolled in GE 6550 A welded plates, Tung Sol 6550 gray plate 3 hole, and tonight Philips ECG 6550s. Good stuff.

Soniqmike,
I can't comment on the 430mv vs 450mv question. However, I've been running a variety of 6550s in my Spirit II for some time now. Bias them to 450mv as well and have encountered no problems from this. In fact, I am very pleased with the sonic attributes of the 6550s paired with the Spirit.

Thanks

Robsker,
What RCAs are you currently using? My experience with the RCA clear tops in my Spirit has been a poor one. I've tried them in both the signal and driver stages and I've tried them paired with a variety of other tubes all to the same result.....bad. By bad I mean the highs were to exaggerated,to harsh, and unrefined. I thought the same of the reissue Gold Lion KT88s. In my room with my system I've had good results with the following. CBS HYTRON 5814s paired with GE pinched gray plate triple mica 5814s, or Seimens chrome plates, or Mullard long plates, or even another pair of CBS 5814s. As for as the power tubes go, I've gone to 6550s exclusively. Right now it's the GE welded plates. It's a little difficult to recommend tubes (tone controls) not knowing your system and your sonic likes and dislikes. Look up Brent Jessie online. He has a fairly detailed sonic description of the various flavors of 12au7s.