[Patrick Turner]

Regats wrote:

So - nobody knows - or is there simply no difference except the name?

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"Regats" wrote in message
news:buLck.360$rb1.118@trndny08...

What is the difference between original production Genalex KT88 tubes and
original Gold Lions? - The ones made by GEC - Not interested in
reissues.
Also, there are different architectures of Genalex KT88's; dual side /
dual top getters,
dual side / single top, dual top... is one considered superior and more
valuable?
Is the Gold Lion version one particular getter arrangement or did they
also
come in different styles.
Thanks.

Many ppl here would not have had an amp which may have used KT88.
Most might have used 6550, 6L6, EL34, 6V6, EL84.

Anyway, I sure have never heard original Genalex KT88,
but I know a guy in Sydney who knew them well and thought their supposed
superiority
was a myth.

I tend to agree with him that audiophiles cling to many myths
for which there is no logic and definately no technological basis, and
because you cannot easily
carry our an AB test to see if there really is something special about
a type of tube which now is virtually Unobtanium,
then the Genalec goodness factor remains a mystery.

The whole arrangement of the circuit and choices of driver tubes
and the operation mode and feedback used and many factors would have
just as big
or bigger effect on the sound quality as the selection of output tubes.

So the sound you get depends on the amp designer and who built it, and
the speakers it drives
and the preamp and a whole bunch of things and the room.

Gettering is gettering, and it doesn't affect the sound
unless the vacuum goes soft. But while its a hard vacuum,
the sound possible might be optimal
if all the many other factors are optimised, and just what they all are
does not always draw together an agreeable crowd of blokes, OK.

Today, tubes are so cheap in real terms that audiophiles think nothing
of changeing all the tubes well before they are worn out.
So you never know how the russian ones are going to last, because nobody
keeps them long enough in the one amp.

But lemme tellya, many NOS tubes made in 1960 that audiophiles I know
have purchased
didn't last long or got gassy too soon, and don't seem superior to
things made by Sovtek.
Some NOS sound better, some not so hot.

Audiophiles like to see themselves doing something about
improving their sound quality.
Few actually compare a new amp to an old one before they sell and old
one (2 years old),
and make sure the new one is a step up.
Its possible that many can make their sound worse, not better,
and they travel around in circles over the years.
Audiophile routinely make terrible technical mistakes which affect their
judgements about the sound.

When I began designing amps and speakers I made sure the next was better
than the previous.

I still carry our AB tests to try to find a difference that's worth
remembering.


Patrick Turner.