Genelex Gold Lion KT-88 reissued tubes

Fred, I was just curious: where did you buy those GL's?

As I said, I've not had a chance to compare the GL's w/ the Penta KT88SC's (it's about 50/50 which one people like better) but I've never heard of reliability problems with the Pentas. You might want to give them a try the next time. . . . . . . and they're a little less money too!

Hi Gerald,
I am also running tung-sol 6550 in a Cayin A-70T, and find the bass to be lush, mids and highs are sweet. I tried EH Kt88 in the cayin and found the bass to a bit thin and the highs a bit grainy.

Does the GLKt88 have better bass in the Cayin ?

I have the Genalex KT-88 reissues in my RM-200 and they work beautifully. A big improvement over the original tubes, as promised. Mine were factory matched, too.

The Gold Lion re issues have a tighter and deeper bass in the A70 than the Tungsol reissues. A leaner but not a thin or cold sound (they are not as lush).

Well, sounds like I am not the only one with GL problems. I tried another quad recently, thinking perhaps there production problems were resolved.

Sadly, the problems continue! I had two go Cherry within a week. I researched possible causes of this, and I am convinced that the tube itself is the problem. I think that over time, the internal alignments get altered, or the solder joint on the pins open due to heat, and runaway occurs as a result. I think the metallurgy principals (expansion and contraction) are at work here. GE spent a lot of time and effort getting the 6550A right.

So, where is a good source for the Penta KT-88?