Primaluna-TungSol KT120s in triode mode


Anyone have experience with this? I have a Dialogue 2 and enjoy triode mode and wondered how these would sound. I Have used kt88s, el34s (SED winged c) and gold lion KT-77s and am currently diggin' the KT-77s. Prefer open, airy, natural detail. All pre tubes in Dialogue are Mullard and GE NOS. Thank you for your time! Rest of system is: Scout 1.1 with Soundsmith Zephyr, Audio Electronics DJH phono preamp (nos tubes) and MartinLogan EM ESLs.
moofoo

Showing 4 responses by reynolds853

My very brief experience with the KT120s in my Rogue M180s in triode mode found them to be the antithesis of tubes that could be described as possessing "open, airy, natural detail." I went back to the Gold Lion KT88s quickly.
Moofoo,

You are quite welcome. Please be aware that a lot of folks here on Audiogon love the KT120s and seem to swear by them. I seem to be in the minority on this forum with regard to that tube, but everyone I know around town that has tried them didn't like them either. As always, your ears and their synergy with your system should be the final deciding factor, all I can say is that I didn't like them nor do I personally know anyone who has tried them and liked them.

Best regards,

John
Moofoo,

I agree with Charles and wouldn't hesitate to suggest that you try them out for yourself and see if they work with your system. At the time I tried them I was using some capacitors in my speaker crossover that I had found to be very sensitive to the other components in the system. I had been surprised at how much they distinguished between the ribbed plate and smooth plate Telefunkens in my Rogue M180s. But there's other guys that come into the shop here with whom I've talked and they didn't like them either, and our systems are completely different. Then again, Chissain liked them in his M180 amps, and we can't discount Wolf's 15,000+ tally of KT120 success stories. I can only relate what I heard through my system, and it was the consensus of my three guests who were with me. What we heard was that the system went from being holographic to where the sound could be definitely identified as emanating from the speakers... I guess the proper term would be that the soundstage collapsed. Turning up the volume resulted in the bass overpowering the balance of my system. The tubes seemed more grainy than the GL KT88's, and with less high frequency extension.

This was their synergy with my system, or I should properly say, their lack thereof. But there's certainly too many people out there that really like them for you to not audition them based on my comments, they just didn't provide a sound through my system that I enjoyed. The issue with these tubes has since become moot for me as I have moved on to an amplifier that doesn't accept KT120s.
Moofoo,

Thank you too for your kind comments. Regardless of how you end up configuring your system I hope it brings you many hours of happy listening.

John