General Asylum: REVIEW: Genalex Gold Lion KT88 Reissue Tubes by snpower

Model:	Gold Lion KT88 Reissue
Category:	Tubes
Suggested Retail Price:	$49.50 each
Description:	Reissue of the famous Gold Lion
Manufacturer URL:	Genalex
Model Picture:	View

Review by snpower on August 09, 2007 at 18:56:29
IP Address: 76.4.90.209 Add Your Review
for the Gold Lion KT88 Reissue

I am posting this with permission from one of my customers. I hope everyone finds it instructive. I'm using a quad of these in my own, meager system (Citation I and MC275)...

Thanks for your prompt service!

The long wait finally ended last Thursday, your package arrived safely, and no delays. I usually do not write in or send emails when I get something new that I am happy with. However, I thought that these tubes were a special case because of my impression of them.
My background is in Electronics, and I have been a hi-fi nut for some 40 years. Having sold some of the best audio (tubed and SS) I know what good sound is. I worked in the Electronics distribution industry, and had a chance to sell many of the finest power tubes in the business - Mullard, GEC, RCA, so I know what these sound like in both classic and modern amplifiers.

KT-88 GL were tested on this system:
McIntosh MA2275 Integrated Amplifier
Jolida JD-100 CD Player (modified by me, ASc.EE)
B&W 803D Speakers
Sansui SR-808 TT, Grado Gold cartridge
Speltz Anticables
Preamp MAIN tubes: Telefunken ECC83 "smooth"
Preamp PHONO tubes: Siemens ECC83 triple mica
Power tube pre-driver: Mullard ECC81 (1959 Blackburn production)

Up to this point, I have tried the following KT-88
power tubes in my system:
"Stock" McIntosh (Svetlana)
JJ Electronics
Penta Labs
SED

Each of those power tubes has been run at least 100 hours to insure
they were "run-in" sufficiently before really evaluating them. Here's how I would pick them, best liked first:

1 - SED, 2 - JJ, 3 - Svetlana, 4 - Penta Labs (KT88 SC)

The SED simply sounded the best throughout the frequency range, with any type of music. Bass punch was excellent. The JJ were a little soft in the low end on my system. The stock McIntosh were a little dry, and did not have the soft midrange and high frequency "bloom" that the others had. The Penta Labs just did not sound good. And I do not understand the hype on these tubes. There are comments out in cyber-space about the build quality and "heavy" or "thick" glass on these tubes. What?!? They are paper thin and weigh much less than the Russian tubes. Maybe I got a bad quad...but they just didn't have the sound I was looking for in my system.

Enter the Gold Lion KT88. After receiving them, I did a check and verification of matching/plate current in my Maximatcher (which they were nicely matched, thank you Stephen) I cleaned the pins and socketed them in the Mc. Since no one is home during the day, I ran the amp continuously for the next 3 days (think I really burned a few holes in my Chicago VII cd from all the repeat/random playing!)

I finally decided that I could sit down and have a serious listen to my system with these tubes. I have a few CDs that were recorded superbly that I use to evaluate changes in my system. One of my favorites is the Carpenters Gold (JVC XRCD2).
I have to say in all honesty that listening to my favorite track (Masquerade) that Karen Carpenter was no more than a few feet in front of me. I was undeniably impressed by the extension of midrange in her voice, and the high frequencies seemed to be so lively. I was hearing things not heard before...I could actually hear the soft echo of her voice in the recording studio on vocal passages. The piano has a reverberation that made it sound as if it really was "there" in front of you.
On Cyrus Chestnut's "Revelation" (Atlantic B000002IWG) I listened to track 3, "Lord, Lord, Lord" There is a lot to like about this CD if you enjoy session jazz. This track features some incredible pulling on the stand up bass, and the GL KT88 tubes were more than a match to faithfully reproduce every nuance of the finger striking the strings on the instrument. Incredible and realistic bite! Again, much more present, alive and articulate than with any other tubes I have listed.

I also auditioned Gordon Lightfoot's "Sundown" album (Warner Bros / Wea B000002KC2) The track "Circle Of Steel" sounded more alive, haunting and spacious than I have ever hear it before. Gordon's near perfect folk voice had a depth and weight to it that I did not know could be captured in a recording.

I also auditioned some vinyl. I listened to Norah Jones "Come away with me" (Blue Note/Classic Records 200g)
On the title track norah's voice had a sultry, luscious and detailed depth I had not heard using any of the previous power tubes.
I could go on and list more excellent recordings that I have listened to...but these tubes brought something new to my system that made everything in my collection simply sound better. The soundstage of these tubes is wider and deeper than any of the others I have tried. And how a tube could do this is still a little mystifying, even after listening to lots of them for 40 years...

I really believe that these tubes have brought modern tube manufacturing much closer to the old stock tubes than anything else. And to those who pick them apart by saying things like "they don't look the same as the Genelax KT88 old stock inside..." We all know they are NOT Gold Lion tubes, so why point out something so obvious? Who cares how they look...just give them a serious audition and decide for yourself.

Like any business, New Sensor needed a marketing mechanism, and buying and using that name is a clever way to do it. But let's please not mistake marketing for performance. They have done their homework, and created a very fine piece of electronics here. In my opinion, these tubes really are the best sounding power tubes available. They are also built superbly, and the glass on these IS thick. One of the ways to improve sound in a power tube is to pump, pump and pump the vacuum drawdown as and molecules can impair sonics. Judging from the sound of these, this is one area they have focused and succeeded in.

Please tell your New Sensor sales rep to keep up the development work as they are certainly on the right track to bringing back tube making to an art as it once was. For all you hardcore NOS fans, give these a try - and listen to the music. I sincerely believe you will be duly impressed.

Product Weakness:	none
Product Strengths:	see text of review

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: MA2275
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): None
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Jolida JD-100
Speakers: B&W 803D
Cables/Interconnects: Speltz
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jazz, Easy Listening
Time Period/Length of Audition: see review
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	MA2275
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Jolida JD-100
Speakers:	B&W 803D
Cables/Interconnects:	Speltz
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, Easy Listening
Time Period/Length of Audition:	see review
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner