Svetlana KT-88


Hello to all,

i´mlooking to change my KT-88. A german dealer is offering me Svetlana Winged C but old production from the 70´s. Does this exist? I can´t found no information about old Svetlanas KT88, inclusive if i search without writing Winged C.
Does anyone heard about this tubes?

Thank you to all,

Agustin
agucela

Showing 1 response by ghosthouse

From what I've read, back in the 70s Svetlana Winged C did exist as a brand of Russian tube produced in a factory in St. Petersburg. Sometime since, an American company, New Sensor, began buying up rights to various tube brands such as Mullard, TungSol,Svetlana and Gold Lion. They started producing tubes at their New Reflektor factory in Saratov. At this point, subsequent to legal wrangling, Svetlana and Winged C became two different brands. The Winged C part of the business becamse SED Winged C and continues to be produced in St. Petersburg. These are the "real deal"/legitmate heirs to the old Svetalana name. The Svetlana brand is now produced at the New Reflektor site and while these might be OK tubes, they along with all the other New Sensor acquired/produced brands don't really duplicate the vintage tube construction of their original namesakes. This doesn't mean they can't sound good in the right equipment and it is worth noting that very positive things are being said about the Gold Lion reissues, in particular (esp. their KT88s). Hope this helps a little. There are others more knowledgeable about tube history who will no doubt weigh in if I've badly mis-represented things.