Shuguang VS Golden Lion KT88 tubes

jdangel38

jdangel38

Pocket Aces
Just looking for some opinions on both the Shuguang and the Golden Lion KT88 tubes. (the modern Golden lion remake.)
Anyone have experience with both?
I've heard the Shuguang's and they actually sounded far better than I first would have thought, a friend owns a couple monoblocks each running 4 Shuguang's.
Havent heard the Golden Lion's and just wondering how the two brands would stack up.
I would love to hear from people who have used them how they stack up against other brands too.
Thanks!
 
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Try Penta Labs KT88 SC.A Shuggie that's about the same price as the GLs.Great power tube I've been using for years.
 
I used to be a Chinese tube hater, but a quad of the black treasure 6CA7s changed my mind. I think they are as good as Mullards, but they cost just about as much. I like the Golden Lion re-issue 88s very well, but have not yet tried the chinese version.:scratch2:
 
jdangel38 said:
Just looking for some opinions on both the Shuguang and the Golden Lion KT88 tubes. (the modern Golden lion remake.)
Anyone have experience with both?
I've heard the Shuguang's and they actually sounded far better than I first would have thought, a friend owns a couple monoblocks each running 4 Shuguang's.
Havent heard the Golden Lion's and just wondering how the two brands would stack up.
I would love to hear from people who have used them how they stack up against other brands too.
Thanks!
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I've owned and used both. The Shuguang Treasure KT88's, once broken in, were superior to the Gold Lions (held bias better and sounded much better). If I was in the market today I'd look for the Psvane KT88's.

Wb
 
I've acquired Chinese 6L6GC, EL34, and 6550's, Russian 6P3S, 6P3S-E EH6550's. They all sounded good with 6.6k Ra outputs. I've settled on the Svetlana 6550=C= in triode mode as my favorite. I've not tried the Shuguang Treasure KT88's or Psvane KT88's yet, what were the VB+ that folks have tried them on???
 
I have a quad of Shuguang KT66's and they sound simply awesome. Tight bass, extended highs, mids just right. Wide sound stage. I heartily recommend Shuguang power tubes.

I also have a matched pair of Shuguang Treasures CV-181T's and they are the best 6SN7 variant I have heard (better than NOS Sylvania 6SN7WGTA's that I've directly compared them with).
 
Another vote here for the Shuguang Treasure KT88s - absolutely brilliant! I have a quad in my GF W30GT and love them. Only downsides are they cost a fortune and take a long time to burn in. I hope they last a long, long time!
 
Haven't tried the Gold Lions but have regular Shuguang KT88-98's in a couple Jolida 502's and a Cayin A-88T and they sound great in all of them and seem plenty reliable.
 
The Psvane team which was with Shuguang has split off and has a separate gray bottle series that are rumored to be sounding really good. Apparently they reverse engineered a lot of the old American tech from the 60's.

The Russian maker New Sensor has westerner Mike Matthews at the helm and is also getting good - they own Gold Lion, and a bunch of other brands. http://www.svetlana.com/

Looks like this horse race has led the tubes back to where they were when their development stopped in the 70's.

This is an interesting read about who's who - a little dated but still relevant:
http://www.vacuumtube.com/mfg.htm
 
dmax99 said:
Try Penta Labs KT88 SC.A Shuggie that's about the same price as the GLs.Great power tube I've been using for years.
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+ 1 on the Penta KT-88's, I'm running a quad of those and a quad of 12AU7 Genalex tubes, I love the combo so far. I ordered my quad of Penta's on Cyber Monday, they arrived really fast and in good condition, very well packaged. :D
 
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Doug has been swamped lately. Long story but the east coast hurricane earlier this year made his life hell. Don't give up shoot him another email and I'm sure he will take care of you. If he doesn't give me a call and I'll rattle his chain.

Craig
 
I have GL KT88, Tung Sol KT120 and Shugung 6550. I don'y think in properly designed amplifier one will find really significant sonic differences. All 3 hold fixed BIAS without any problem whatsoever with very small drift. The only problem with Shugung 6550 is a cosmetic issue - length of the bottles different by 5 - 7 mm.
 
I just got a matched quad of the GL KT88s from Jim McShane and love them and Jim ( great service and good guy). Fit and finish appear beautiful and they sound great. I haven't heard the others but wanted to pipe in.
 
NOSValves said:
Doug has been swamped lately. Long story but the east coast hurricane earlier this year made his life hell. Don't give up shoot him another email and I'm sure he will take care of you. If he doesn't give me a call and I'll rattle his chain.

Craig
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Craig,
Thanks for the PM, I updated my post, the noisy tube during warm-up has quieted down and the quad is sounding great. :banana:
 
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I have been running a matched quad of Shuguang KT88's for close to a year, good sound, very bias stable, they have barely drifted 1 point either way in all that time. That is just the basic KT88's, Im sure the Treasures are even better.
 
Be aware that the Penta tubes are the larger sized bottles, here's my latest tube amp with the Svetlana 6550C's and the second picture with the KT88SC-MQS tubes from Dougs Tubes. :D


ASL_AQ-1002_02.jpg




ASL_AQ-1002_05_zpsa5d568e9.jpg
 
I have started with Electro harmonix KT88 and changed now to Gold Lion and love the same. However now i have acquired two pairs of Shuguang KT88(NOS) and waiting for the arrival of the packet to test it out.
 
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