Hi C...Well yes, Chinese tubes had that fame of “low quality” (for their mass produced tubes) but in recent years things have improved a lot with their “special” series like Psvane T-II, Shuguang “Treasures”, Fullmusic, not to mention expensive beauties like the Sophia Electric KT88-ST blue bottles ($175 each) that are custom made by Shuguang for the said U.S. company, and reviewers are bowled over... they say the tubes belong to the very top of the KT88s universe (including NOS tubes) and some say a sonic level comparable with the revered (and uber expensive) Czech KR tubes. So, the Chinese definitely can make excellent and reliable tubes...for a price.
I was looking for a neutral, lively, “not dark” KT88 set for my power amp, (avoiding “dry” sounding tubes) that must have taut and controlled bass, along with a “liquid” sound and wide soundstage, and yes, the Sophias seemed just the ticket...but not at that price. After closely examining tube construction details watching many pics of the Sophias (a trick learned in this very forum) I discovered that (apart from bulb shape) the latest “super tube” Shuguang WEKT88s were the very same tube internally, up to the smallest details. This is quite common in China: they will “custom build”your “brand name” premium tube, but they own the tech behind, so they have the rights to build a similar tube under their own brand...and they will surely do it. As an example, the famed Penta Labs KT88 was produced by Shuguang, also as their own GEKT88...a true copy of the GEC beam tetrode, and some experts (as JAC Music in Germany) say that the Russian GLKT88s, (while sounding great) are not true “KT” tetrodes as the originals, but this is another discussion. I found this new tube to be exactly the same as the Sophias (save for bulb shape) and reviews are just glowing ones:
Well, we are all “music fanatics” and love “super tubes” don’t we ? Those premium tubes are expensive at around $85 each (plus shipping) from China, (and I needed a quad) but found an U.S. seller involved on the “Black Friday” madness, so we arranged a sweet deal ! Let’s see what happens...I certainly will try the quad in Euforia, first...
Hi J...those Chinese 'super' tubes certainly do look the business...especially that lovely looking blue Sophia Princess! But at those prices, I'm afraid I'll pass on them given the magnificent sound that's coming from my 3x Russian GL KT88/ 1x KT66 (at the moment!) setup lol .
And as for different folks' opinions on all these different iterations of the KT88, I'm afraid it would seem that as usual, one needs to take many of them with a very large pinch of salt indeed! For example, I've read very unfavourable experiences with Penta Labs tubes, and even sometimes questioning re. the value for money of the Sophia Princesses...???. As for the Russian Genalex reissues, I personally like their use of gold signal grid wire; carbonised screen grids and triple alloy coated anodes!! . But I'm certainly looking forward to how you find the Shu WEKT88s in your Euforia, J...(sure wish you had the Empyreans though lol ).