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RE: Cheapest Source of Shuguang KT88?

Posted by TubeAcolyte (D) on August 3, 2014 at 08:45:13

In Reply to: Cheapest Source of Shuguang KT88? posted by haziz on August 3, 2014 at 02:49:07:

Valve Art products are indeed made by Shuguang. I do not think there's anything overtly special about Valve Art tubes except maybe a more stringent testing process and the occasional STR (special tube request, in-house design).

From what I see, according to various pictures from various stores, between the Shuguang-branded ones and the Valve Art, they're identical by look. And by the performance and listening experiences I've found on the net, the two brands are pretty similar if not identical. In fact, one thing that stood out: people enjoy both the EL34B branded by Shuguang AND Valve Art.

Aside from maybe a selection process that weeds out the high-voltage grenades, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck... yyyeeeeaaaah it's a duck...

While I haven't tried any Valve Art products, I'm not sure you're going to achieve any real improvement moving away from the EH-KT88. I know for SURE the Shuguang-made KT88SC is an improvement in "sweetness and romanticism" (sold as the Penta KT88SC and TubeStore's Preferred Series KT88). I found the EH excited-sounding, but a little stiff and uninspiring at times. The KT88SC does a wonderful job of curing that. JJ's are hit and miss depending on the amp - if your amp and speakers seemed focus on the higher-end of the frequency spectrum, the JJ KT88's jazzier and relaxed character can fix/balance that off. I think Gold Lion KT88's (by New Sensor) fit roughly between all these options - no official experience yet with the GL, but soon!

Cheerio and happy rolling!
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May your tubes be lively, warm, and long-lasting. Holy be thy heater.

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Edits: 08/03/14

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