Jadis 6550? (for CJ Prem. 12)

i'm willing to bet you're right(aphile); it would not surprise me at all to learn that the jadis 6550's are not chinese. this is part of a little game that i play with some of my local audio dealers (and dealers of other luxury items, for that matter). the gleefully provide me with mis-information and i either call them on it on the spot or go out and do some research and come back and call them on it. for the most part, i'm pretty well hated. ah well, the only real shame comes at times like this, when i mistakenly pass along this mis-info. i think i'll visit this guy again and see what he has to say for himself...trelja--i agree that the kt90's are more powerful, better on the bottom end provide overall better balanced sound. i was using the ei's for a while. about 3-4 months ago i switched the interconnects joining my cd player and amps, from mid-range transparents to kimber's kcag. when i made that switch, i fiddled with the tubes a bit and determined that i liked the warmth of the 6550's better with the silver cables. i still have the ei's and i really do owe it to myself to to a bit more testing before i invest in new 6550's. i have not listened to kt88's.

One thing you may also want to try is HomeGrown Audio's version of KCAG. It is only $70 for 1 meter(terminated). It is the same as KCAG, only using solid core silver wire(as opposed to stranded). I find it better sounding than Kimber. Less edgy, metallic, shrill. Yet still accurate, detailed, and extended. Jadis doesn't recommend KT88, as they feel they are unreliable. I have investigated this, and found there was a period when Tesla(also known as Teslovak, and now JJ) KT88 were very unreliable. Recent production has been fine. I would first recommend getting the HomeGrown Audio cable, give it a 200 hour break-in(it may sound terrible even at 50 or sometimes 100 hours - there is an easy way to break in cable without turning on your amp, which I learned here on Audiogon). If you still find yourself craving the warmth, then try a set of KT88s. Also, will your CJ Premier 12 accept EL34/E34L/6CA7 tubes? I would e-mail Conrad Johnson with this and other questions. If you REALLY desire your CJ to sound sweet, warm, and romantic, the EL34 types are the way to go - classic tube. You would also be paying 50%(or less) for this type of tube(good now, and great in the future). What kind of speakers are you driving? Assuming you have an abundance of power now, you don't have to worry about what you'll lose when you switch. And they work beautifully with silver cables. Good Luck!

trelja--i'm running pretty efficient speakers, jm labs' mezzo utopias. cj actually offers a el34-based premier 12, the 12xs. they have roughly half the power of the 6550-based models. unfortunately, i cannot use my 12's with el34's without sending them back to cj for a bit of reworking. i really enjoy the el34 sound. in fact, my first tube amp was cj's mv55, which uses 2 el34's per side. i would have entertained the 12xs when i bought my 12's (my mezzos would run nicely from either), however, i was buying used and a good deal came up on a pair of standard 12's. i'm pretty happy. i'd be interested to hear the homegrown cables. i'm also pretty happy with my kcag's. but when i move back to new york later this year, i expect i'll need a longer run of interconnects. and the kcag's get really expensive as they get longer.