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The first two words I was tempted to use to summarize how I felt about the TU-8200DX was higher definition. Then I pondered a bit to realize that might over-generalize and mislead you into thinking that the TU-8200DX offered less valve bloom. That was absolutely not the case. Background noise was much lower especially when switched from pentode to ultralinear mode. It became so low that instrumentations set against this pitch-black backdrop were carved out like a sonic hologram. When comparing apples with apples and both amps set to pentode, there was definitely a warm airy atmosphere surrounding the instruments that made the music lifelike and involving.


One major difference though was that the old unit had the deeper bass and more bloated imaging. Old fashioned valve bloom some might say. To control the bloat needed speakers with a tighter grip than the Synergy F2. My JohnBlue JB3F did a good job of defining a shapely frequency profile. But it was the Dynaudio Facette which integrated most amicably with both old and new amp. The Danish speakers became the sonic mediator, uniting commonalities and abating disparities.

Before I ventured further to audition the new amp on its own, I swore that I had to do something about the jumper settings for the output tubes. Every time I switched mode, I had to power off the amp, disconnect all cables, wait 10 minutes, unseat all tubes from their sockets, remove three screws from the rear panel, four more from the bottom and take off the top cover to get at the jumpers. After that I had to put everything back. That was driving me mad. I bit the bullet and drilled a 15mm hole on the cover right above each jumper. Now I could reset the jumpers with a pair of needle nose pliers. (Do it with deft fingers or the jumper might flip off into some dark corners underneath the transformers.)


Still one must power off and let the high voltages subside. At least the amp now could stay where it was whilst I performed the little operation. For covering the holes, wooden Maple plugs which carpenters use are perfect. But you have to shave part of it thin so that the fat KT88 can sit comfortably. As for my gorgeous after-market tube cages, they are metal cutout cuffs which fashionable girls wear on their arms. Thanks to my daughter for the inspiration. As soon as I caught sight of the one she wore, I asked her to order extra pairs for me on forever21.ca. Quick thinking saved the day. They were sold out soon after. They come in silver and gold. I prefer silver for EL34, gold for KT88. One more step was drilling holes around the tube openings to set in four screws for each cuff to grip to.


Without further ado I dutifully tried out the three different modes using three major output tubes (6L6GC, KT88, EL34) partnering the aforementioned loudspeakers. Not carved in stone, here are my initial findings:  


1/ Sylvania 6L6GC and Russian PAДИO 6n3c running pentode or ultralinear render full-scale orchestral ambience and Wagnerian dramatic magnitude with my Klipsch Synergy F2. Piano solo had Muscovite pathos and Lisztian bravura with dashing colours especially in pentode mode. It’s the unpolished heroic presentation that makes the 6L6 so uniquely charismatic and the Klipsch provided the right honing effect without rounding off the edges too much.

2/ The KT88 was historically developed in Europe as an 6L6 update but never became a clear replacement as it is richer and fuller in harmonics, more potent of drive and can handle some tougher speakers. Here I found the Gold Lion Genalex in pentode or ultralinear driving the Dynaudio Facette a close-to-perfect synergy for almost any kind of music. Switching to triode for romantic songs with piano accompaniment, solo guitar or small-scale chamber music with solo woodwinds gave excellent proportions and instrument localization even when I felt picky.


3/ The Mullard EL34 for me has been a love-hate situation. I love the way it makes Maria Callas so humanly emotional and a Guarneri syrupy and sweet. I hate it when the wrong speakers turn the valve bloom into nose-up stuffiness and piano notes into sticky notes. With the JohnBlue JB3F or Loth-X BS-1, it struck the right balance in pentode. With the Klipsch Synergy F2, I’d definitely replace the Mullard with an East-German Haltron and set it to triode to reinstate some sensible clarity.


If you think this would never lead to conclusive recommendations on the best combination or perfect partnership, you are absolutely right. You must keep rolling tubes and reset the jumpers to suit the music genre and recording. For my personal taste I would stay away from the Haltron EL34 in triode mode driving the JB3F because that made a piano’s upper octaves piercingly bright and the midrange thin out. If I wanted to go no fuss, no muss, I’d be happy to leave my Genalex KT88 in ultralinear mode at all times driving the Dynaudio Facette and just enjoy the music.