Anyone with experience or thoughts on Audio Research's new KT 120 tubes?
- Thread starter Lee
- Start date
IMHO, they were indeed, all of that and a bag of chips
Indeed, but then inquiring minds want to know why certain reviewers and other audiophiles raved about the sound of the Magico (and the previous CES too where the sound was not very good)?
One thing that I've found interesting over the years is to watch which rooms at audio shows are preferred by audiophiles and which are liked by reviewers. Interestingly, the two camps rarely agree which begs the question then, what's going on?
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Certainly the constraints of show rooms being small and poorly treated, all I can say is the Q5 played with the Constellation amps was very engaging even if it were in a room divided in half by a sheet. With a good sub, the Q5 would make for a very good system
Sorry if was unclear but meant the sound of the Magicos at last years RMAF, not the CAS. BTW, Magico switched from Soulution at CES to Spectral at RMAF and I was really disappointed with the outcome
And I've found that the source material used plays a large factor in one's rxn to the Magicos. At this years CES, I wouldn't have given you a nickel for the sound with the digital played back through the Pacific Microsonics converter (arguable among the better units; OTOH, the speakers were totally different beasts when Alon graciously played back several tracks from the upcoming tape project series 3 releases! I have to say that for the first time, heard some good qualities in the Magicos. I did want to get a pair for review but don't think that will happen unfortunately.
Hi there!
getting back to the KT120 tubes - I have hands on experience with this new tube made from Tung Sol; one word "fantastic!" provided your amplifier can handle them.
I have also auditioned the new ARC Ref 150 driving a pair of Martin logan CLX's, very nice and live impact, absolute sound with a very natural presentation.
I have also replaced the 6550c tubes on my conrad johnson amp, and the sound is far more lively, greater impact in the bass regions, to mid bass as well, captures all the low notes with finesse. The mids are far more natural and have great impact yet not over-powering to hurt your ears, and the highs are way smoother compared to the 6550c. The KT120 is somewhat like having the best of an EL34, KT 88 & kt90, plus 6550c attributes all put together in one tube. they run a bit hot though, and require roughly the same bias, but will last longer than the average 6550c tubes.
I highly recommend the KT120 by tung sol; I am not aware of other manufacturers who actually make the KT120. I believe that new ARC Ref 150 is going to be another award winner for ARC!
Well done ARC! cheers RJ
getting back to the KT120 tubes - I have hands on experience with this new tube made from Tung Sol; one word "fantastic!" provided your amplifier can handle them.
I have also auditioned the new ARC Ref 150 driving a pair of Martin logan CLX's, very nice and live impact, absolute sound with a very natural presentation.
I have also replaced the 6550c tubes on my conrad johnson amp, and the sound is far more lively, greater impact in the bass regions, to mid bass as well, captures all the low notes with finesse. The mids are far more natural and have great impact yet not over-powering to hurt your ears, and the highs are way smoother compared to the 6550c. The KT120 is somewhat like having the best of an EL34, KT 88 & kt90, plus 6550c attributes all put together in one tube. they run a bit hot though, and require roughly the same bias, but will last longer than the average 6550c tubes.
I highly recommend the KT120 by tung sol; I am not aware of other manufacturers who actually make the KT120. I believe that new ARC Ref 150 is going to be another award winner for ARC!
Well done ARC! cheers RJ
Hi, Big Dog,
How I wish its as simple as just installing the Kt 120 in out old ARC amps. The company has already issued a bulletin and they stated w/c amp can use the Kt 120 ( vs55, vs55i, vs60, vs60i, vs110, vs115, vm220, ref110, the ref 210 and ref 610 has a factory upgrade kit in order to use the kt120) With regards to the vintage amps there, s still no bulletin. By the way what model of CJ amp are you using?
tdh888
How I wish its as simple as just installing the Kt 120 in out old ARC amps. The company has already issued a bulletin and they stated w/c amp can use the Kt 120 ( vs55, vs55i, vs60, vs60i, vs110, vs115, vm220, ref110, the ref 210 and ref 610 has a factory upgrade kit in order to use the kt120) With regards to the vintage amps there, s still no bulletin. By the way what model of CJ amp are you using?
tdh888
Hi TDH, I think Big Dog runs the CJ MV60SE, the Special Edition 60 watt stereo amp that originally used EL34 and then was upgraded via the SE to 6550. I owned the non-SE edition many years ago, and it is a great, great amp. I very nearly kept it and tried to find a second one and convert them to monos. while i am very happy, i do wonder what that would sound like, particularly now with these KT120s.
HI there! yes, you're absolutely right, the c-j amp I am currently using with KT120's is the MV60SE. It was a great sounding amp with the original 6550C tubes and had that very lush typical c-j sound driving an older pair of maggies -MGIIIA's. After which I got the new Quad ESL 2905's, and no sooner these new tubes were offered by TungSol, the c-j distributor in Australia told me to try these KT120 things stating that I'll be amazed.
One word! bloody "fantastic" mate! The entire sound stage just lifted several notches up, the whole frequency spectrum seems to be far wider, deeper bass, smoother mids, silky highs, spacing of instruments, detail, depth, timbre, (timing, and accuracy were nearly similar to 6550c & even better), but the KT120's also had far greater slam. Overall what it did was sound very more lively and natural, "the absolute sound" was coming through my Quads, and the 2905's are very capable of producing TAS.
Don't get me wrong, the 6550C is a wonderful tube, it's just very relaxed compared to the KT120. It's something like a Rolls Royce cruising down the free way vs a Ferrari griping the road and taking on anything in front of it! After I gave my thoughts to Lew Johnson, they were also excited to learn about this tube and what kind of transformation it did to the MV60se. They should perhaps be releasing something soon with KT120's.
There was another chap in Melbourne who has a newer c-j amp LP66S; also tried the KT120's, he has never looked back since!
If ARC is providing a list of amplifiers that are compatible with the kt120's that's good advise; also seems like the list is quite comprehensive as it includes a number of amps that can be tried. I used many of these ARC amps before driving maggies and older ESL's. They should be a very good match with KT120's.
My next upgrade in amplification would be the new ARC REF150, I heard this thing driving a pair of Martin Logan's and Magico's, the sound was spectacular! Probably the best I've heard from a push-pull design with pentode config. You absolutely got to hear this new REF150 to believe it. It's going to be a phenomenal contender in the high-end and is going to put many so called high powered devices to shame - trust me it's that good!
It would certainly be interesting to see what next c-j, Manley, VTL & Mac puts out with KT120's...
until then the ARCREF150 will rule this playing field.
All the best and cheers with your tube rolling.
RJ
One word! bloody "fantastic" mate! The entire sound stage just lifted several notches up, the whole frequency spectrum seems to be far wider, deeper bass, smoother mids, silky highs, spacing of instruments, detail, depth, timbre, (timing, and accuracy were nearly similar to 6550c & even better), but the KT120's also had far greater slam. Overall what it did was sound very more lively and natural, "the absolute sound" was coming through my Quads, and the 2905's are very capable of producing TAS.
Don't get me wrong, the 6550C is a wonderful tube, it's just very relaxed compared to the KT120. It's something like a Rolls Royce cruising down the free way vs a Ferrari griping the road and taking on anything in front of it! After I gave my thoughts to Lew Johnson, they were also excited to learn about this tube and what kind of transformation it did to the MV60se. They should perhaps be releasing something soon with KT120's.
There was another chap in Melbourne who has a newer c-j amp LP66S; also tried the KT120's, he has never looked back since!
If ARC is providing a list of amplifiers that are compatible with the kt120's that's good advise; also seems like the list is quite comprehensive as it includes a number of amps that can be tried. I used many of these ARC amps before driving maggies and older ESL's. They should be a very good match with KT120's.
My next upgrade in amplification would be the new ARC REF150, I heard this thing driving a pair of Martin Logan's and Magico's, the sound was spectacular! Probably the best I've heard from a push-pull design with pentode config. You absolutely got to hear this new REF150 to believe it. It's going to be a phenomenal contender in the high-end and is going to put many so called high powered devices to shame - trust me it's that good!
It would certainly be interesting to see what next c-j, Manley, VTL & Mac puts out with KT120's...
until then the ARCREF150 will rule this playing field.
All the best and cheers with your tube rolling.
RJ
Hello all,
greetings from Melbourne! We're having really funny weather here. Early hours of the morning we're around 13c, by mid noon it's 28c, and midnight drops to 15c. Ideal weather to stay in and enjoy the music! Can't get enough...
Enjoyed the new ARC Ref 150 which I think is a wonderful device, and now c-j has put out a new Classic Sixty SE version with those special KT120's. My MV60SE already sounds outstanding with the upgrade, and now all I need to do is have all three amps run in for a comparison.
Cannot get hold of an ARC Ref 150 in Melbourne as yet, need to wait for the Sydney importer to place an order. Would certainly like to see how it drives the Quad ELS's...
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.
cheers, RJ
greetings from Melbourne! We're having really funny weather here. Early hours of the morning we're around 13c, by mid noon it's 28c, and midnight drops to 15c. Ideal weather to stay in and enjoy the music! Can't get enough...
Enjoyed the new ARC Ref 150 which I think is a wonderful device, and now c-j has put out a new Classic Sixty SE version with those special KT120's. My MV60SE already sounds outstanding with the upgrade, and now all I need to do is have all three amps run in for a comparison.
Cannot get hold of an ARC Ref 150 in Melbourne as yet, need to wait for the Sydney importer to place an order. Would certainly like to see how it drives the Quad ELS's...
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.
cheers, RJ
Hello all, new to the forum but I just bought a set of these tubes that are in Bob Carver's new amps he is selling. All I have to say is that I am liking them very much so far. I have about 30 hours on them so they are not quite boke in yet but every listening session they seem to get better.
Good day mate,
Nice to hear that you are enjoying the new KT120's. Yes, they would certainly require far more than that to sound good, after around 100 plus hours they sound awesome. You'll get there eventually and begin to appreciate what they can deliver.
Bob Carver's new designs! Nice one, what amps are they?
Many years ago (1980's) during the classic days of audio I used to own TFM series amps from Carver, plus the Sunfire and Lightstar before going into tubes. I also had the Infinity Rennaisance 90's driven with Carver amps, and Apogee ribbons. To me the Ren 90's & Apogee Diva's sounded far better with tube monoblocks, which I later used for quite a while upto 2005, before toning down to just 60/70 watt stereo amps.
What are these new amps called and what's his new website? Would be nice to re-visit after so long.
Cheers and enjoy your music.
RJ
Nice to hear that you are enjoying the new KT120's. Yes, they would certainly require far more than that to sound good, after around 100 plus hours they sound awesome. You'll get there eventually and begin to appreciate what they can deliver.
Bob Carver's new designs! Nice one, what amps are they?
Many years ago (1980's) during the classic days of audio I used to own TFM series amps from Carver, plus the Sunfire and Lightstar before going into tubes. I also had the Infinity Rennaisance 90's driven with Carver amps, and Apogee ribbons. To me the Ren 90's & Apogee Diva's sounded far better with tube monoblocks, which I later used for quite a while upto 2005, before toning down to just 60/70 watt stereo amps.
What are these new amps called and what's his new website? Would be nice to re-visit after so long.
Cheers and enjoy your music.
RJ
Sorry to take a bit to get back to you. Been working too much and then went on vacation.
Check out www.bobcarver.com. He currently has two sets of mono block tube amps. 180 and 305 watts. I have the 305's and I like them very much.
Check out www.bobcarver.com. He currently has two sets of mono block tube amps. 180 and 305 watts. I have the 305's and I like them very much.
Similar threads
