Gold Lion KT77 tubes for Primaluna Amp - a few questions


I have a Primaluna Dialog Premium HP amp (stereo mode), and am currently running the stock el34s.  With 4 per channel, the re-tubing and tube rolling discussions can get expensive, so I have been treading lightly. Having read numerous threads (lots of great discussions and comments - thanks to everyone who has contributed) I have decided to give the golden lion KT77 tubes a go.  I have a few questions.

1- in looking around, I see there a multiple sources of the tubes.  From multiple eBay sources (some which appear to specialize in tubes and others that do not, some are “genelex authorized dealers”) to the well known Upscale Audio.  The pictures of the tubes all appear to be similar.  Am I correct in assuming they are all the same genelex “made in Russia” tubes?

2- one of the things that appears to differentiate the different suppliers is how they match them.  Is all matching the same, as long as they are “close enough”?  I see factory matched, hand matched, transconductance, plate current, 5%, 10%.  Lots of stuff here.  ESPECIALLY for the self biasing Primaluna amp, how critical is the matching method?

3- one last question about dealers.  I am in the Chicagoland area and I recall somewhere someone saying or posting that they buy all their tubes from a local company, that was very good and knowledgeable. Does anyone know who this dealer is? All things being equal, supporting the local economy (and being able to talk to another audiophile across the counter) is a good thing.

finally, just so we don’t go down a different rabbit hole, I did replace the center two 12au7s with mullard NOS 4003 from Upscale Audio.  One of the best things I have done to my system. Wow.  I plan on changing the other four, too.

THANKS 

Bill
meiatflask
Sure, not a problem.

Also have a PL prologue 4 I have gone through with copper caps.

Am pretty sure I have before and after pics. Not too difficult of a job. If you lived nearby would say just bring yr amp over and can walk you through the steps.
 johnss if you want to share pics in the thread you can just upload them someplace, photobucket for example, and paste the link here.
They are all the same, except for the accuracy of the matching, as you correctly surmised.

I can heartily recommend Viva Tubes. Great prices and the match is always excellent, at least within my ability to test on my Hickock 752 and TV7/DU tube testers.

Update: I recently bought my second pair of KT77s from Viva tubes...these guys are near me in MA, but not near enough to drive there because I’m lazy. That said, they’re also one of the least expensive sources of new tubes I know of.
@wolf_garcia 

+1 Viva Tubes
Matched quad Genalex KT77s are on sale for $143.01 as of yesterday.