kt88 valves

[karma67]

has anyone bought valves from them? they make some bold claims and would appear to be a better choice than chinese ones.

https://sophiaelectric.com/collectio.../pages-se-kt88

[Wakefield Turntables]

I've heard about them and seen a few reviews. They are expensive, I'm happy with my GEC KT88 CLONES, if the form of the Genelex gold lion KT88.

[User211]

has anyone bought valves from them? they make some bold claims and would appear to be a better choice than chinese ones.

https://sophiaelectric.com/collectio.../pages-se-kt88

They are Chinese.

Sophia rebrand Chinese valves. They don't make them.

[Floyddroid]

Utter bollocks. Made in China and rebranded. If you like the look of them fill yer boots. I'm betting that the Genelex mentioned above will be just as good or better. I remember Bill Beard once telling me over a beer or three about his trip to the factory in china where he bought a consignment of KT88's. He told be they stopped the production line where Gold Dragon's were being made and the screen print changed to Beard. There is a lot of Billy bulsh spread about valve rolling. I have just re-valved my amps with stock Chinese valves and they sounded just as good as the expensive ones i had replaced the originals with.

[karma67]

I’ll stick with my gec’s I think!

[User211]

I one bought 12 Golden Dragon EL84s for my Bill Beard BB100.

3 months later half of them had failed.

Sophia rebrand Chinese valves. Fact.

So why utter bollox when it is a fact?

[Marco]

A lot depends on the valves in question and the circuit they're used in [i.e. how hard they're biased/driven], as to whether or not current production Chinese valves will be as good as something more expensive, or NOS. Almost invariably though, IME, the *best* NOS valves (in closely matched pairs), of any description from the best traditional manufacturers, will outperform Chinese varieties, simply because they're much better made.

I've had considerable experience of using KT88s (in various amps), and for me, the best sounding (and most reliable) ones by a country mile are in the following order:

1) Original GECs - but at now crazy cost!

2) E.A.Ts: https://www.europeanaudioteam.com/en...-wp000023.html

3) 'Winged C' Svetlanas (now unfortunately discontinued).

4) Golden Lions.

TBH, I wouldn't grace a good KT-88-based amp with anything else, especially the 'all fur and no knickers' poncy shit, shown at the beginning of this thread, as they're designed to appeal to a certain type of buyer (one who judges more on looks than anything else) and simply aren't built well enough to be reliable!

Therefore, IMO, they're to be avoided at all costs, as they're a total waste of money. So, sorry, Jamie, it's a 'no' from me

Marco.

[Marco]

Oh, and one further thing... If the KT-88 amp in question can be made suitable for use with KT-120 (or 150) valves instead, then that'll likely be the best sounding option of all - and much cheaper, too!

Marco.