New tubes in Rogue M-180 Monoblocks

The KT90 was thin/lean sounding compared to the KT120 in my Apollo monoblocks. Had a KT90 blow up after 1 year of light use -- a nasty short; sparks and a smoked resistor. No such issue with KT120 in the same time period -- that said, it's naive to trust the reliability of any Russian power tube. I've only run both at 40ma. Suppose it might be smart to try 35.

There are some good points to the KT90 sound, and some listeners will prefer them, but I significantly prefer the KT120 9.5 days out of 10. The bass response is more powerful -- and it's not subtle. The KT120 is smoother and less harsh. If this sounds good to you, give it a try. If your system is a bit bass-heavy and/or needs extra sparkle up top, then stay away. Suits my current system. I believe all current Rogue amps -- other than the non-Magnum Atlas/Cronus -- can provide the extra heater draw. My dealer's M180s shipped from Rogue with KT120 installed. They've also got a Cronus Magnum with KT120. EVERY time I've asked Rogue "what about using alternate tube type X that draws Y more heater current" -- amp or preamp -- they've responded "yes, it can handle that". Heck, I run 12BH7 in place of 12AU7 in my Apollos, on top of the KT120.

I got a confirmation from Rogue that the KT-120 should be biased at 40 mA in the bigger Rogue amps, not 35 mA.

Thanks for the update, Actusreus. I've already had the 120s biased at 40mA for a couple days now. Perhaps it's my imagination, but the sound is perhaps a bit more present.

I think you took a wrong turn somewhere.......

I have a pair original 1 year old Rouge M-180 which I will try KT120. This amp was delivered from Rouge with KT90.

The issue is that there is a red capacitor seen in the tube hole. Shall I force the KT120 tubes down? I think I can do this, but the cap will be in touch with the tube socket. Are the amps delivered from Rouge with KT120 the same way?

Best NR9