As an Octave owner I do not agree with the 6moons review. I started with the V70SE and have upgraded to the V110. With the V110 running the KT120's I find a lot more speed with those tubes than the 6550/KT88/KT90. Personally I don't care for the KT120's because the mids are too forward and dry sounding compared to the 6550/KT88/KT90. The bass is a lot punchier. Now if I switch to 70W mode over the 110W and using the KT120's the mids are a hair better and not as dry but the speed is no better than any other tube I have except for the Ei KT90 type2. I do have a black box and although I don't notice much of a difference in headroom it really lowers the noise floor. Currently using the KT90's in 110W mode and really like them. But for a to die for midrange (like the EL34) but with power - sparkly highs a good bass the vintage Tung Sol 6550 solid black plates. But since they stopped production of the black plates in late 1959 finding quads is very rare and super expensive.
I've never heard the Ayon but the Octave line is fantastic IMO. The protection circuit really works. I've had a few tubes 'arc over' and it goes into protection mode. No damage to anything else other than finding the faulty tube if you didn't see it happen.
I've never heard the Ayon but the Octave line is fantastic IMO. The protection circuit really works. I've had a few tubes 'arc over' and it goes into protection mode. No damage to anything else other than finding the faulty tube if you didn't see it happen.