Low watt tube amps/pros/cons

I just purchased a Cary Rocket 88 and enjoy it tremendously. I use it almost exclusively in Triode, I find the Ultralinear a little dry for my taste. This system has a very black background with very good bass, and a very low noise floor, for a tube amp. It is more powerful than some but at 20 watts in Triode lower than most. With 95db efficient speakers it produces excellent dynamics from very low to more than moderate volume levels for a 18 x 24 room.

I find the KT88s sound very lively a lot like the EL34s but not rounded off in the upper frequencies. I am very impressed with the build quality of such a low end price point for Cary.

Compared to SS this amp does not have the “punch” in the very low end, and my preference is single driver speakers with this amp. I have a pair of triangles that are more than efficient enough but in my listening environment with this amp the bass seems just a bit bloomy or loose, where as the Abbys seem more controlled. I prefer the Triangles with the Tripath amp that I have, as the bass just seems to regain the punch.

unfortunatley its a forum of grown men putting way too much time into electronic dreams... Oh well gotta find a new hobby.!

Ok I see my error. No amp can be all things. That there are tradeoffs with any design. I have my eye on a pr of 845 amps and hopefully one day will own the pr and will report back.

Whacky spot for this thread! As for the question posed concerning KT88 amps I can report that amongst my amps is a KT88 tube integrated with what I consider to be a remarkably authoritative low end that is on par with the best SS amps I've spent any time with. In fact, I was under the impression that KT88 amps were pretty much the class leaders for low end dynamics amongst tube units. N'est-ce pas?

Beemerrider, Not everything is equal. You cannot make such a broad assumption.

I think one of the reasons that folks like KT88's is that they serve up a warmer frequency response than other pentodes and are a better match for a lot of components which have been designed with emphasis on detail and resolutionion the forefront. They err, if at all, on the warm side of neutral.

I have an amp designed around the KT90 that I use with KT88's that sounds better and and has better lower bass than a KT88 designed amp I use. I also have a pair of mono's designed for KT90's that sound better than either of the former amps w/KT88's (or KT90's) using 6550's. Using the KT90's in any of these gives even better bass response than any of these other tubes, I just don't care for the mid-range and highs of the KT90's in those amps.

What I have found in my amps is that the KT88's give a warmer upper bass, not as tight, but very pleasant and a bit more air and warmth again in the upper mid-range/highs, where as the KT90s have very strong tight bass, cool mids, and I think up tilted highs, and the 6550's are more neutral than either and can produce some very clear highs with no exageration and no bass bloom either.

Anyway, thats just my amps, my ears etc. YMMV. FWIW.