Genalex Gold Lion KT77

[Tam Shaun]

Anybody have the experience of the re-issue Genalex Gold Lion KT77 I want to order octal set for my michaelson tube amp.

[Trout]

Originally posted by Tam Shaun
Anybody have the experience of the re-issue Genalex Gold Lion KT77 I want to order octal set for my michaelson tube amp.

I am a bit skeptical of any tubes coming from New Sensor/Sovtek these days.

It is great they are making decent quality tubes, but at nearly 2x the price of the JJ KT77 I suspect you are paying more for the hype around the long defunct Genalex name rather than the actual tube.

I feel like they added that tube just because JJ was the only current KT77 offering the past few years.

YMMV of course.

[danFrank]

I second that opinion; Get the JJ's. I have a quad of JJ KT77's and use them in a guitar amp running 550 volts on the plates and screens, which is pushing it but they have held up well with no problems so far.
Daniel

[kevinkr]

I think you might want to wait until Jim McShane weighs in on this subject.. JJ lately has had serious quality control issues with many of their octal power tubes, and the JJ KT77 does not seem to have a stellar track record in this regard. The ones I've seen were nothing to write home about..

The current New Sensor products have better process control and quality assurance than a lot of the vendors out there - guess that comes from owning the plant you make your tubes in, and frequently being directly accountable to your end customer which JJ is not.

No, they're not the cheapest option out there, but my recent experience has been that their production is consistent and bad tubes don't frequently get into customer hands.

Ever try returning a defective tube?

[leadbelly]

There is a good review article in the current Guitar Player comparing the New Sensor reissues to NOS. Of course that type of info isn't often useful for hifi use.

[Davec113]

I'm very happy with my re-issue Tung Sol 6550s. Very neutral, great bass, and a very holographic, 3d soundstage.... using them in my Simple SE amp w/ Omega XRS single driver speakers.

I tried a friends re-issue GL KT88s, and liked the Tung Sols better by quite a bit.

Dave

[Trout]

Of Course tube vendors opinions have a lot of weight when deciding on tubes, but they also sometimes contain a bit of bias.

JJ did indeed have a couple issues at the introduction of the KT77 series tubes. That left a bad taste in many vendors mouths which are still voiced today.

Having used several dozen KT77's the past couple years, I have only had but a small sampling compared to a vendor, But I for 1 have been very pleased with the 40+ JJ KT77's I have gotten.

[kevinkr]

Originally posted by Trout
Of Course tube vendors opinions have a lot of weight when deciding on tubes, but they also sometimes contain a bit of bias.

JJ did indeed have a couple issues at the introduction of the KT77 series tubes. That left a bad taste in many vendors mouths which are still voiced today.

Having used several dozen KT77's the past couple years, I have only had but a small sampling compared to a vendor, But I for 1 have been very pleased with the 40+ JJ KT77's I have gotten.

Definitely a good point, I too have had limited exposure, but unfortunately I have had a lot of problems with JJ KT88 failing in some of my older designs - to the extent that I can't recommend them at all. (525V/60mA UL operation) The KT77 is obviously a different animal, but I am hesitant because of problems with the '88.

[gofar99]

Hi Everyone, Brands are always a hot topic. I have two class A pp amps runing the JJs and they are just fine. As does another with JJ 6L6Gcs. I have have had problems with other tubes in the same amps, EH KT88s did not balance well and did not have the silky quality of the JJs. just my 2 cents.

Good listening
Bruce

[Trout]

Originally posted by kevinkr


Definitely a good point, I too have had limited exposure, but unfortunately I have had a lot of problems with JJ KT88 failing in some of my older designs - to the extent that I can't recommend them at all. (525V/60mA UL operation) The KT77 is obviously a different animal, but I am hesitant because of problems with the '88.

I can totally understand the point of view



A couple years back I had gotten burned on a batch of 12AX7EH's and some 12AX7LPS's, So after that it took me a couple years before I bought another New Sensor Tube.

To me it looks like a either company has its share of " Bad Batches" Hit it right they are gold, Hit it wrong and your stuck with 50 rejects.