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EL34 SED, Black Sable or Genelex Gold Lion?

I am currently using the new production EL34 SED, bought from tubedepot.com, and are very pleased with the result in my Manley Snappers. However, I am curious and still searching after new constellations of tubes in my amps. It is part of the fun. And here is my question:

Have anyone compared the EL34 SED with the Black Sable edition of the same tube?

And, how is EL34 Black Sable compared to the Genalex Gold Lion KT77? (almost the same price)

Any experience with these tubes?
128x128musicophile
tommy583
55 posts
 
Bjesien,
I would say if you want clarity and detail go with the Siemens or the Gold Lions. I feel that the SED gives a softer overall sound than the other two. Between the other two in my system, i've found the Gold lions to have touch softer sound in the high end. But the bass seems to go a little lower, with better weight. They are both nice tubes and I could be happy with either one. For now i'm keeping the Gold Lions in my amp.
bjesien
614 posts
 
Seems like the GGL KT77 might be the tube of choice. Can the KT77 be used in an amp that runs in either ultralinear or triode, like the VAC Avatar or the Manley amps? I thought I saw somewhere that it is designed for ultralinear use. This confused me because I've also read it's a drop in replacement for the EL34.

Thanks so much for the help.
tommy583
55 posts
 
Bjesien,
My amp is a Dynaco ST-70, but it is wired in triode. The guy who built my amp(Will Vincent) sent it wih JJ KT-77's. But all three of the tubes mentioned in this tread blow the JJ's away.
ajackson1
156 posts
 
the KT77 works on in my amp in either modes, not sure why a mode will make a diff, but I may be wrong.
bjesien
614 posts
 
Talked to a tube guy named Jim about it and he says they will be fine. I'm going to give them a try. Will post follow up. Thanks again for the support guys.
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