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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. 
128x128jbhiller

Showing 3 responses by jbhiller

jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,361 posts
 
@samzx12 

Great question-- Can you please tell me what were your initial impressions of the GL KT88 and what didn't you like about the stock EL PL EL34?  

I found replacement reissue Mullard EL34s to be better than the PL EL 34s.  I was really impressed with them.  They were rich and creamy in the midrange.  I think the GL KT88 may have a bit more range across the spectrum, BUT I need to go back and hear them again.  Honestly, both the Mullard reissue EL34 and the GL KT88 seem better than the stock PL EL34.  I think the stock PL was well behaved but didn't draw me in too much.  I'm going to have to go back and compare the 3 over a few sessions though because my aural memory fades after about a week or two. 
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,361 posts
 
As an update, I'm now about 6 weeks in with the GL KT88s.  If I had to guess I'd say I'm north of 120 hours with them.  

Again, I liked them pretty well out of the box.  I got bored/curious and popped in the EL34s for a weekend in this stretch.  It made me appreciate the good of the EL34s.  I went back to the KT88s and they were fine, but I wasn't feeling so drawn in at times. In the last week I've asked myself why are things sounding so great as of late.  I'm sure that I'm more accustomed to the KT88s, but I wonder if they needed north of 100 hours to break in.  

The differences that I note at this ~120+ hour mark are more definition of instruments in space, better individualization of notes, the high end seems less tense, and the bass is just as present in volume but not as on top of me.  This is not a night and day change but it's also not too subtle.  

I'm less than 1200 hours into tube gear in earnest so I'm still getting a feel for the lay of the land.  I think that maybe some of these tube types do break in a bit in the first 20-100 hours--give or take.  And, with all this said, it all makes me want to keep experimenting.  
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,361 posts
 
@samzx12 , yes, I agree with what you said, especially about the presentation being a touch edgy.  I think this is true because with the EL34s I could run more preamp tubes with them that provide a bigger top end--i.e. Ciftes, RCAs, etc.  To tolerate some of the top end edginess, I had to get more creative with my 6 preamp tube selection.

Now I suppose I can assess my hypothesis that the GL KT88s require a good break in period if find that I can introduce the Ciftes and brighter tubes back in--especially more than 2 out of the 6 preamp slots.  I'm not sure that would mean I've actually proved something yet I do think it would make it more likely that break in is playing a real role. 


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