So far I've run the Kt-120s so far in the Cary amp and they are very inferior to the KT-88s . Not sure why. Tubes not broken in? Only run about 8 hours on them but the bass was much lower with them. A tad grainy up top. Worse midrange. Just bad. Like get outta my amp stat bad. Ordered some Sylvania GTA NOS tubes tonight. Giddyup.
While I haven't had the 120's it's my understanding that the 120's give up base and midrange for power. I'm a fan of the 88's. So you're not alone in your findings. They may improve as you use them but might not get where you want.
FWIW, I bought my Dynaudio Excite X44's for $2,500 from Nashville Hi Fi. The guy there was super great to work with, and he is a big Dynaudio dealer. This is the actual demo set that I bought in pristine condition. Untitled by MDTshots, on Flickr I do still think you and your wife should take a listen to the Sonus Faber Lumina V, which I posted above in this thread.
Really enjoying them and have been spending the last week adjusting my system to them. Previously, with the Quad S-2s, there were some types and tracks of music that sounded amazing but then others would fall flat, especially tracks with big midrange. With these Prisms, there's fullness of sound across bass, mid, and treble, and some of the music that fell flat with the Quads (like hard rock and punk) are now completely rockin' with the Prisms. The combination of my amp, Marantz PM8006, and the Prisms is working well with two noticeable differences compared to the Quads: 1) I'm using a greater portion of the volume control with the Prisms than with the Quads. With the Quads, they were really sensitive to volume input and I rarely made more than 1/3 turn of the volume control. With the Prisms, they have a smoother response to volume input and I'm going past 1/3 input more often, sometimes to 1/2. That's not to say I'm blasting them more, they just need a bit more juice to deliver their fuller sound. 2) With the Prisms, I had to turn down the preamp bass EQ a bit to accommodate their better bass response in my small room. With the Quads, I was in the camp of "source direct" with no preamp adjustments but these Prisms have actually opened me up to the benefits of preamp adjustments. Also, I'm running the Prisms with a sub and last night I finally got the gain and crossover adjustments into a good place. Overall, I'm very very happy with this upgrade.
lol literally, no offense to anyone we are all digging the same "scene" more or less....... please continue.
I know, just having fun.... and have completely no issue with it! It's thread efficiency, get all your shopping needs done in one aisle!!!
any biasing that needs to happen? have you ok'd them with cary? FYI cary responds very quickly via e mail. the 120s needed no burn in with my rogue amps. i replaced a 3 year old set with a new quad and they barely missed a beat, maybe a day or two....
I actually prefer KT120s in my Cayin amp despite it being designed for KT88s. I wouldn't expect the 120s to sound any better with continued use. It's possible they don't have good synergy with the preamp tubes or the amp as a whole.
you are sure circling the wagons ! do try a Harbeth larger model if you have a chance. The C7ES3 and a robust tube amp like yours can be a mystically atmospheric thing....
If you’re interested in electro-stats as an option, a used pair of Martin Logan Masterpiece Classic ESL9’s should be around your price point. I’m a fan of ML and these speakers sound great to my ears - fantastic soundstage, imaging, clarity. They go down to 34 Hz, but still might benefit from a sub depending on room etc. More limited dispersion than a ‘standard’ speaker so keep that in mind.
Also do you just bias every power tube to the same manufacturers recommendation? In the Cary its 75 mV. I thought it was funny that the previous owner of the Cary amp said he never biased them once and they were both 72mV when I biased them the first time, which has to be close enough to probably not cause much difference.
If your Cary was build in 2005? Have you called Cary to confirm that the KT-120's can be used. I see where a new version does.
Did you find the amp handles complex musical passages with more ease with the 120s? Or perhaps better worded, what do you like better about the sound?
Well this is one of my questions. I've read the 120 is a drop in replacement for the 88. So no it doesn't change the voltage going to the 120s when I drop them in, the way some modern tube amps have a switch when you go to 120s/150s. So what does compatible really mean if you can just drop in 120s? The amp comes with KT88's installed. At least the current version. I tried the 120's from reading old threads on the SLI-80 of others saying that had success using the 120's in them for more power.
I've heard you describe the 7ES as "rich" but I can't translate that into sound. What does that mean? Too sweet? Too creamy . Creamy is my favorite audio adjective. I have no idea what it means but the word makes me smile.
Then I'd say you're good. I've had nothing but great performance from 120's in the three Amps I've had over the years. A Rogue Cronus, Rogue M-180's and Q.S. Mono 120's.
Oh man. A pair of used KLH Fives in West Hollywood for $1585. Hmmm. And I'm going to Long Beach next weekend for a Reggae festival. Sounds like it's meant to be!
sometimes bias level is different for different tube types. i had to crank up the juice on my rogue when i tried EL84s. best left to the manufactuer's recommendation for bias setting for a give tube.
Rich sounding as in a slight abundance of midbass and cabinet warmth compared to other Harbeth models. Still has a very nice clear, realistic midrange (amazing vocals) and possibly the best treble I have heard in a speaker, crystaline and present with air but never overblown. Even being rich sounding it is nothing like the overtly warm, detail impaired new KLH or the extreme coloration of the Klipsch Fortes.
