When I put chinese EL156 (KT100 labeled Valve Art) in my amp, I was surprised that they sounded better than my RCA 6550's. No other recent production valve (Russian or Chinese) managed to surpass the RCA's (made by Tung Sol).
Mind you, this was a totally different topology than your question: PP-UL with some local feedback. Timeframe: second halve of the 1990's.