General Initial Impressions--Genalex Gold Lion KT88 Reissue


I've been on a tear of tube rolling with no end other than to try things out and see how I like them.  

I am trying out the Genalex Gold Lion KT88 reissues--8 of them--in a Primaluna Dialogue Premium HP integrated.  I mated them with 4 Cifte 12AU7s and 2 Baldwin (likely early 60s) 12AU7s.  

I made the mistake of not changing my selector switch from EL34 to KT88 during the first 20 hours of listening to the Gold Lion KT88s.  Regardless, I thought they sounded pretty great out of the box with the EL34 setting.  

It's still early in the process so I'm not 100% certain of everything. My initial impression is that these offer the sweetness of EL34 midrange while extending most of the sound spectrum.  There's a good bit of air on the top and mid to upper level detail is superb.  Compared to the EL34 reissues, I think the bass is a touch softer yet more defined--yet this is early and I need to compare with recordings that are tattooed on my aural memory before making final conclusions. 

Overall, I'd say this reissue is a damn fine tube.  I'm not finding any noticeable shortcomings or faults.  Everything is musical and enjoyable.  Smooth is the order of the day with this tube, yet it's not sleepy or droopy. It's a nice mix, in my mind's eye, of vintage and modern.  I really like them.  

I bought a matched octet from Upscale, but I didn't have these cryoed like most others I've bought. 

I'm super curious to hear about other users' experiences. 
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Showing 5 responses by wolf_garcia

My trusty Jolida 502p "with factory upgrades" has been running various tubage for years with interesting results…initially sounded fine with the stock 6550s (Tung Sol) but no no no…ya gotta roll! Sovtek KT88s…also sounded fine, similar to the 6550s, then KT120s lasted nearly 3 years and sounded great until they started to understandably lose their mojo, KT150s sounded fine for several months but I think my amp was straining to make ’em work (oh well…disturbing amp noise indicating the amp was saying, "get these things off me"), then Gold Lion KT88s were dropped in around a year or something ago and yeah…they sound pretty much exactly right. I also like Gold Lion 12AX7s in the front, and Mullard 6201s as they explode when turned on (as do I).
I missed that query aimed at me, but to update...now I'm using GL KT88s (as supplied with this amp) in a Dennis Had "Inspire Fire Bottle" amp with more efficient speakers…the Jolida may be headed for retirement, although seriously served me well for years…a great amp! The "Fire Bottle" is an utterly different design from the Jolida (single ended 12 watts per side), although obviously limited to efficient speakers.
I bought a quad of el-cheapo Sovtek KT88s just to see what's what a while back and they're actually really good…a now discontinued New Sensor product. 
I have to give a hearty approval to KT120s as it took a LONG time to wear out a quad of them in my last push-pull amp and I liked those tubes…then switched to GL KT88s in that amp and sold it after replacing it with a Dennis Had single ended thing. The Had came with GL 88s, and I just stuck a pair of 120s in it (there sort of cheap these days) and they sound great. Not sure if they're better sounding in this amp than the Sovteks or GLs, but hey…I can get years of fun from switching them around so there's that.