June 16, 2012

• New Sensor Gold Lion KT88

  These reissues of the original Genalex KT88 are manufactured by New Sensor in their Saratov, Russia plant.  They have a double top O-getter with one additional O-getter on opposite sides towards the top portion of the plate structure.  The Gold Lion has a chrome-colored collar and brown base.  The tubes feel hefty in your hand and have an attractive appearance.  Not that we’d let their appearance affect our feelings regarding their sonic characteristics. 

       

        

  They were purchased as a lightly used quad (< 100 hours) from a private seller.  As a result, they did not change character during the audition other than when (see below) the tubes in the Premier 16LS2 were replaced.  They are available online from many vendors including Jim McShane at $54.50 each and Upscale Audio for $59.95 apiece. 

  During the first part of the audition, the Gold Lions were used in conjunction with Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8s in the conrad-johnson Premier 16LS2 preamp and for the latter portion, the preamp was inhabited by Electro-Harmonix 6922EH wearing their conrad-johnson supplied O-rings.  The Bugle Boys, during their stay, were ring-less.  The primary difference in how the Gold Lions sounded when used with the two types of small signal tubes is noted in the Listening Impressions section.

  Let me break with my usual practice and say right up-front that the New Sensor Gold Lion KT88s are my favorite tubes with the exception of the vintage Tung-Sol’s previously reviewed.  I need to buy another quad for when I get my Premier 140 power amp back from conrad-johnson where its being repaired and having its capacitors upgraded to the CJD Teflon versions.

   

  Listening Impressions:

  • Macrodynamics, especially with the 6922EH in play, are excellent.
  • Lower bass (at least as low as the speakers are capable of) could be more prominent.  Although what’s there is tuneful and never one-note.
  • While listening to the Come Away With Me SACD by Norah Jones, she is a physical presence in the room.
  • The violins on the 7 Concerti for Woodwind and Strings CD are sweet and feathery sounding with abundant detail.  You can immediately recognize the “Archiv” sound which I find to be a little tipped-up in frequency response.
  • In comparison to the Tung-Sol 6550 black-plates on the same CD, the Gold Lion’s are a little quicker, lighter, airy and bouncy.
  • There is a solid central image with excellent projection into the listening space.  Depending upon the source and the material, it extends to this listener’s seated position which is about 8 feet from the plane of the speakers.  When I wasn’t hypnotized by Charlize Theron, the Aeon Flux DVD was an exercise in sound field immersion.
  • Lateral separation projects beyond the outside boundaries of the QUAD 989’s and together with sound stage depth, are reference quality.
  • On the Into the Labyrinth MFSL LP by Dead Can Dance, the sound is quick, taut, with details not heard on my CD and with a cavernous sound stage to boot.

   

  The New Sensor Gold Lion KT88’s are, in my opinion, a total success and sound almost identical to their predecessors, the GEC KT88.  If anything, the New Sensor version may be slightly more fleet of foot and on any given day, my judgment of which sounds “better” is going to change. 

  Of all current production output tubes that I’ve auditioned, these are undoubtedly my favorites.

   

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