Gold Lion KT88 No Cryo Reviews

4.9 Rating 150 Reviews

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909.931.9686

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2058 Wright Avenue,
2058 Wright Avenue
California
91750

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Mark Rentzel

Verified Reviewer

“Hard to find tubes in 2022 (Ukraine/Russia situation). Glad I ran across Upscale Audio. Tubes were to fix a Hammond Leslie speaker. Tubes arrived extremely fast (two days) and I was able to get the Leslie up and running after soldering in a new fuse and replacing the tubes. Sounds great. Tube were really of great quality.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Gerald Hauptman

Verified Reviewer

“I have changed power tubes twice now from the original KT88 tubes that came with my amp. First time to EL34 Mullard tubes to experiment with EL34,s. Missed the KT88 base. Now with these Gold Lion KT88s, the base is back plus way smoother mids. Not even broken in yet, but they put a smile on my face. Nice!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Anthony Zabukovec

Unverified Reviewer

“I have been a sound engineer (live) for many years. Music has been a way of life for over 40 yrs. I have a pair of MC60s that I revalved in 1981 with original Genalex Gold Lions. These new reissue Gold Lions I will put up against the originals any day. I received my order promptly and intact. The tubes were matched well. I have a Willsenton R8 integrated amp that I have paired with a pair of Klipsch Heresy IV speakers for my living room, I tired the original GL KT88s (from MC60s) in this amp before ordering. It opened up the sound considerably and made triode mode much more dynamic and controlled. I ordered the reissues and expected them to be bright out of the box, this was not the case. The burn in that upscale does, settles the valves nicely. The sound is better than my originals (probably need to replace). The bottom end is very controlled and not boomy, the mids are very clear and deep, the highs are very sibilant but not harsh, The dynamics make for a very true to life sound that is warm and very enjoyable to listen to. I would recommend this valve to anyone that wants true to life sound from their amp. Thank you Upscale Audio for your dedication to awesome audio.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Steve Volkman

Verified Reviewer

Author didn't leave any comments.

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Anthony Bianchini

Verified Reviewer

“I had 8yr old Gold Lions in the amp, and a couple of them were getting weak per testing on tube checker. I rolled the old guys with this new set and really opened up the sound/sound stage quality A LOT!! :) The tube matching was pretty good on all 4. The system is a McIntosh MC275.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Charles V Kneiblher

Verified Reviewer

“My 3rd set of power tubes from Uncle Kev. Performing flawlessly in my last three builds. I buy here as their extensive testing weeds out the losers. I don't want to lose iron because of crap tubes. Ampzilla rules!”

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Posted 2 years ago

Thanks for your review, Charles! Yes, our "tube cooker" AKA Tubezilla is a huge benefit to customers. It heats power tubes to operating temperature, and we burn them in for 72 hours. Then we grab the oven mitts and test the tubes while still burning hot, ensuring we get the most linear, stable numbers, and also reliably weed out the problem tubes.

Posted 2 years ago

“I totally get it, tubes are subjective, however, specs and chatter cannot replace personal results. In doing my best critical listening that I can in my temporary audio room... I will confirm there is a difference in the KT 88's, I have a lot of work to do in completing my system so I will not say they are better or the same as the OEM EL34's, there is a difference and I am looking forward to rolling tubes down the road. aesthetically, yes they look the part. PrimaLuna Evo 400 Monoblocked Amps.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Edward Blake Jr

Verified Reviewer

“Nice to have a matched set this time around.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago