KT88 tubes for Monos

Wig

I've never done a direct comparison between the RAM's and the Fuller's. When I bought the Music Reference RM-200 in 2001, they came  with the RAM KT-88.   A couple of years later I got the tube rolling bug and tried the Sovtek's, which were alright, but not better.  Read about the Gold Lion's and tried them and loved them.  Used those for quite a few years (two sets) until I read, here on this forum, of a gentleman who spoke of the Canada Fuller's. Because they were pricey, I hesitated for a while. But eventually I bit the bullet and tried a set.  Never regretted it.  Sound wise, compared to the RAM's and the Gold Lion's?  It does it all better, from top to bottom is the best way I can describe them without the long winded wording that reviews use, which I am not good at anyway.  I only know what I hear, and the difference was immediate.  I can't comment on reliability.  Only that I play my system nearly every day and I've had these tubes for at least 3 or 4 years, if not longer.  Never had a problem.  In fact, I bought another set. Not that I needed it, but just to have them on hand.  Besides the prices were creeping up for some reason.  I wish I could tell you more about them, but all the info I could find, I already mentioned in my previous post above.  

I can't shed any light on the Coke Bottle's or the TJ's, because I have never tried them.  And the rolling tube bus stopped when I heard the Canada Fuller, which is where I happily got off.

Skipp       

Since switching to a single ended pentode Dennis Had amp I've found it to be FAR more revealing of tube types, including the rectifier tubes…it came with a set of Gold Lion KT88s but recently I swapped 'em out for some old but barely used Sovteks, and damn…the Sovteks (no longer made it seems) sound beautiful, and they were inexpensive.

@skipping & wolf_garcia

Thanks for your reply! Since I've had good success with Sophia, I may just get those since they have been around and Canada Fuller is quite new to me; It will be no time soon really since I have Psvane TII and Shuguang Gold Voice.

Wig

I was always a JJ KT88 fan, and felt they produced the best sounding current production variant.

However, when Shuguang introduced their Black Treasure, they raised the bar much higher than the JJ, which produce a hard, glassy sound in comparison. The Black Treasure put forth better transparency along with the liquidity and musicality. Over time, like most Shuguang tubes, they’ve also proven rugged as well, and easily best the JJ and the other European tubes in that area, as well.

The Psvane KT88 then came along, and sounded better still than the Shuguang Black Treasure. But after their initial launch into the market, they supposedly moved from the Shuguang to Guiguang factories, and longevity nosedived. Presumably, they’ve corrected that, but I’ve not gotten near them in a while, as I don’t run KT88. When people ask me, all things considered, I recommend the Shuguang Black Treasure.

Regarding the blue and red glass JJ tubes, back around Y2K, someone told me the blue glass run 2 degree C cooler than the clear glass. The red glass run 2 degree C hotter than the clear glass. Over time, I heard others repeat that.  As I once imported JJ tubes, the factory told me that was hogwash, so it was purely an urban legend. I always loved the blue glass, and personally run their E34L. But after it’s become ubiquitous, I sort of like the uniqueness of the red glass, which you don't really see in North America for whatever reason. The previous Tesla / Teslovak tubes that evolved into JJ had a much superior color on the tubes

@trelja 

I'll see how the Psvane TII hold up and have found a source for Valve Art Cryo Shuguang KT88 T which is a GEC copy and quite reliable from users. I'm finding that Shuguang appears to be the standard when it comes to reliability and others may have the edge in SQ but you never know how long they will last...

Thanks,
Wig