KT 88s - Gold Lion re-issue vs others

I've used the SED's off and on for a few years. They are not a linear tube in my experience. The upper bass is a bit prominent (maybe not a bad thing in some systems) and mids/upper mids can be a bit uneven (in some systems this might be seen as having beneficial 'sparkle'). Most often when I have tried this tube I've moved on to SED 6550's.

The GL KT88 is deserving of its reputation, linear, extended, tight bass, etc. Sounds like you already have the right tube and would not be happy with the SED KT88.

I would not pay the price for the EAR tubes unless you also have the corresponding $20K cables, $100K speakers, $50K electronics and are just embarrased by using plain old $200 (per quad) tubes. :-)

FWIW.

If I were going to experiment with other "88s",I would try the Shuguang Anniversary "black bottles".These are on my "to try" list.
Concur with the "Winged C" comments.Found them a little bit brittle on the top-end.

Go Gold Lion, no need to look back.

Ditto the Gold Lions.They tightened up the bottom end on my amp a great deal.IME,changing the signal tubes netted a bigger change in the sound.