Preferred Series KT88 Power Vacuum Tube (Matched)
Our Preferred Series KT88 vacuum tube is a versatile high quality tube. It is very musical and with a frequency range balanced from top to bottom. It has a strong detailed bass and smooth highs, with the mids slightly warm yet still detailed. The soundstage is wide and deep. The Preferred Series KT88 power tube construction features a solid plate design and triple getters.
We have been working at sourcing a good quality KT88 tube for the past couple years. This KT88 has excellent quality and for the price is one of the best KT88 in production today. They are custom made for us in China by the Shuguang factory. Our years of experience in testing, rating and listening, combined with customer feedback and knowledge were used to give you the best tube value we can provide. These are tubes that consistently provide us with positive customer feedback.
This tube is also sold as or known as Penta KT88SC or KT88-SC tube.
The Preferred Series KT88 tubes carry a 6 month extended warranty.
Wholesale pricing: Is available on 25 pairs or more. Contact us for pricing.
Other Preferred Series tubes KT88 Tube Types
Additional Information and Downloads
Tube Matching Information:
Power Tube Matching FAQ
Perfect Pair System
Warranty Information and Return Policy
Warranty Period: 6 monthsPreferred Series tubes have a 6 month warranty from date of purchase. (Any exceptions will be noted on that tube's Warranty tab)
If you receive a tube that does not perform to the manufacturer's specifications, please do the following:
- contact us to get a return authorization
- return it via regular mail within 180 days from when we shipped it, and we will provide an exchange or refund of the full purchase price of the tube.
Returns not related to warranty or defect will be considered at our discretion, and are subject to a 15% restocking fee.
We can not accept returns that don't have an authorization, are past 6 months, or are returned improperly.
These guidelines may be updated without notice.
Ratings & Reviews
22 reviews
Shocked!
by Rodney -
I'm really enjoying them...they shock me as to how good these tubes sound in my Zesto Bia.
I'd say they are 90% to my quad if GEC's...big compliment but true.
Such a perfect output tube....
by Paul
This one does it all. Top to bottom, is perfectly linear and this tube has unmatched transparency vs. any other KT88 I have tried. They are also extremely reliable!
Tone, texture and drive
by Si Guy
I've been running these in my Inspire single ended amplifier by Dennis Had (formerly Cary audio). These tubes take the amp to a whole different place than with the sweet and smooth 6v6's. My jaw literally hit the floor when I spun up the Brothers album in by the Black Keys. I'd never heard tone and texture like that through my Zu audio speakers before.
Nice tube for the price, & great tone in both hi fi, & instrument amp apps.
by Seth -
I have been changing odd heads & Fender 135 watt PAs into Dumble style amps and building 60-80 watt amps using 6550s, KT88s & KT90s for a while now, and a recently restored a 1st generation Conrad Johnson amp & preamp, I got a great deal on. Okay, the Conrad Johnson did wind up running with Northern Electric, & EAT tubes as well as NOS Tung Sol 6550s. I really like these. My last later Dumble converted 135 retained a clean colorful sound on the clean channel that bloomed with tone all over the frequency range. It was maybe a teeny bit flatter in the mids, and not quite a pronounced with the highs, but a few twists of the knobs and they did everything that was ask of them in that guitar amp. The kitchen style 75 watt did yield the VERY slight subtle mid & high differences, as did the Conrad Johnson, but I still really like these! The Tube Store also had the high ESR caps for my old Valco amps too! The selection of NOS Gold Lions & Gold Monarchs is really waining fast, and the used stuff is really bad! There are a lot of usable used 6V6s out there, but new production is the only way to go with KT88s now. These are a great option! They did not look like what I expected, which was a Valve Art KT88. The will break up nicely in the dirty channels too, but when I think KT88 I want to hear what the clean tone is like. I have very few compliants! They even rock out a 1980s USA market 6550 JCM 800 in a nice way! I see Penta named here by TTS. I may have to call some colleagues & see what the Penta Labs connection is here. This is on of, if not the best of the 2 digit price KT88s. EATs run around $1700 extra for a quad, including the burn in and retesting. The Preferred Series is a heck of a deal at 50 bucks! I miss the SED KT88s! These are darn nice too!
Excellent Sound
by D. Armini
I can not afford more expensive KT88 and I try this. Very excellent in my amplifier. Much better than others.