The Tung-Sol KT150 is one truly awesome tube, and while it is a new production model, it has managed to surprise me in the best way possible. This tube is a genuine beauty, and its unique egg shape definitely makes it one of the best looking options on the market today. We often buy tube amps not just for the audio quality, but because they look superb, and this glass adds a very futuristic aesthetic, even if that look might not suit every single amplifier.
The sound performance is exactly as expected, this tube has serious balls. The bass production is absolutely superb, remaining tight and precise with no mushiness to be found. While the mid-range leans slightly toward the dry side, it is still quite good, and since these haven’t been fully burned in yet, there is room for improvement. Beyond that, the overall transparency and top-end extension are very impressive, offering one of the best sound stages I have ever heard from a power tube.
A word from New Sensor:
“With the new KT150, Tung-Sol continues to lead in the audio power tube, power game. After the introduction of the highly successful Tung-Sol KT120, Russia’s premier vacuum tube inventor, Valery Krivtsov, in collaboration with Irusha Bitukova and a team of ExpoPUL tube designers, set to work in our laboratories to develop an even more powerful audio output tube.
With a massive plate dissipation of 70 watts, the Tung-Sol KT150 is the most powerful octal beam tetrode ever produced. A pair of KT150s can allow an amplifier with a power output approaching 300 watts to be built.
The Tung-Sol KT150 glass envelope is a special egg shaped balloon that was developed to improve thermal dissipation and maintain a superior vacuum for the best sound. The fact that the glass envelope has no flat sides means the Tung-Sol KT150 has no problems with microphonics.
The manufacturers who are developing amplifiers to use this tube have reported that the Tung-Sol KT150 sounds great in all power amplifier configurations including single-ended, triode connected and ultra-linear. The tone signature of the Tung-Sol KT150 is characterized by a strong bass signature with balance and clarity throughout the audio frequency spectrum.”
The Tung-Sol KT150 is one truly awesome tube, and while it is a new production model, it has managed to surprise me in the best way possible. This tube is a genuine beauty, and its unique egg shape definitely makes it one of the best looking options on the market today. We often buy tube amps not just for the audio quality, but because they look superb, and this glass adds a very futuristic aesthetic, even if that look might not suit every single amplifier.
The sound performance is exactly as expected, this tube has serious balls. The bass production is absolutely superb, remaining tight and precise with no mushiness to be found. While the mid-range leans slightly toward the dry side, it is still quite good, and since these haven’t been fully burned in yet, there is room for improvement. Beyond that, the overall transparency and top-end extension are very impressive, offering one of the best sound stages I have ever heard from a power tube.
Characteristics of the tubes – here
A word from New Sensor:
“With the new KT150, Tung-Sol continues to lead in the audio power tube, power game. After the introduction of the highly successful Tung-Sol KT120, Russia’s premier vacuum tube inventor, Valery Krivtsov, in collaboration with Irusha Bitukova and a team of ExpoPUL tube designers, set to work in our laboratories to develop an even more powerful audio output tube.
With a massive plate dissipation of 70 watts, the Tung-Sol KT150 is the most powerful octal beam tetrode ever produced. A pair of KT150s can allow an amplifier with a power output approaching 300 watts to be built.
The Tung-Sol KT150 glass envelope is a special egg shaped balloon that was developed to improve thermal dissipation and maintain a superior vacuum for the best sound. The fact that the glass envelope has no flat sides means the Tung-Sol KT150 has no problems with microphonics.
The manufacturers who are developing amplifiers to use this tube have reported that the Tung-Sol KT150 sounds great in all power amplifier configurations including single-ended, triode connected and ultra-linear. The tone signature of the Tung-Sol KT150 is characterized by a strong bass signature with balance and clarity throughout the audio frequency spectrum.”
Tried this tube in my PrimaLuna Prologue 5 – bigger, bolder sound with better bass sound. Great vocals as well.