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In Reply to: Report on Gold Lion KT88 reissues.... posted by dls123 on March 2, 2007 at 22:53:30:
Don
Thanks much for the detailed writeup and Im glad they have a tube now to better the shuggie that we will be able to get without having to kiss someones fanny like at penta.
I want to ask how many hours do you have on the shuggies? If its considerable like 1000 hours,they may be worn a bit and that may be the difference in dynamics possibly? I dont know tho but I want to make sure that the test is accurate so we know the actual sonic differences.If its only 500 hours on your shuggies then you will be fine but Im going to throw a quad of the reissues in tonite..I bought 4 quads of them 2 months ago from NS.
Follow Ups:
If dealing with Penta is a problem then Doug's tubes (dougstubes.com) carries the Penta KT-88's and you can order them from Doug.
Thanks
They are a good tube and I got my first set 5 years ago from Ludovic pierson because he worked at penta and I abused and used them and they still sound superb..
That's exactly where I got my quad of KT88SC's. He was selling some on epay. As I said, after 800-1000 hours they still look and test as new. Great tubes, but do burn in those GL reissues and let me know what you think since you are essentially doing the same tube comparison in different equipment. I'm curious as to what you will hear.
Many times you call and NOBODY answers the phone..You get a recording and they say leave a message and then they may or may not return your call.I had 4 people tell me this that I had to sent to them.
I had called them about it and left a message and they returned the call on the ans machine 3 days later saying they must have been at a meeting..RIGHTTTTT!!
They do have a fantastic tube tho and I wish more people could carry it.
...kiss LOTS of fannies.
-------------------------------------------------------
Tin-eared audiofool and obsessed landscape fotografer.
http://community.webshots.com/user/jeffreybehr
Also they quoted me 3 different prices as a dealer when I called them.
Hi Mike,
I have somewhere around 800 - 1000 hours on the KT88SC's. I put them in my Hickok 600 and they still test as new. Again, my amp is running triode at about 340v so it is pretty easy on the tubes so I think they are still in the middle of their service life, but you know FAR more about tubes and equipment than I. I was still groovin' on them, but got that little bug to try the GL's. All that said, if you can get the GL reissues for a decent price I think you'll like them. Please let us know what you think! I will have to try the KT88-98, you sure can't beat the Shuguang prices and they are really well built tubes.
cheers,
Don
For what its worth- here's my take on several KT88s I've used in my ARC Ref 300 MkII over the past few years. Bottom line, The Shuguang 88-98's are the best overall tube in many important ways, namely, overall sound and even more importantly, reliability. Sourced from The Tube Store in Canada at $25/pair. I use matched octets if i can get them. I went through living hell using Valve Art KT100 version of these tubes sourced from Antique electric in Arizona. 3 failures out of 16 in 6 months. Blew a few tube power resistors. Not fun. Not fun at all. The sound was excellent but I cannot deal with the quality control problems. I've also sourced the KT 88s from VAC, and these too were superb but very expensive ($50/pair). I do not know the OEM but I think it is Shuguang also. Also sourced from Quicksilver. Gorgeous top end, less impressive in the bass that then Shuguangs. I won't try the Electroharmonix as they are quite bright. I'd be interested in hgearing some russin KT88's but the Shuguangs are so good, I am not motivated to do so.
Don
I know the gold lion is a great and I trust your judgement but to be really fair you probably have to have a fresher set of shuggies to compare.I realize the tester says they are good and for all practical purpose they are,but the tester cant put full voltage on the tube for actual real test and other parameters of the tubes may have diminished and that may be the difference you are hearing.Im not saying for sure that it is but it could be.
Mike,
Absolutely fair criticism of the experiment. Testers are just able to give a rough assessment of tube condition. I replied above, but please post when you have results of your experiment as I am curious. At any rate, I have a $200 quad of tubes I am really enjoying....
agreed!
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