Matched Pair (2x) Genalex Gold Lion 6922 tube (E88CC)

IF I could rate these no noise, high gain, balanced triodes, Gold lions higher than 5 stars, I certainly would!First, let me describe my setup so that those contemplating purchase of these very well balanced tubes can interpolate for themselves whether or not they want to invest in an upgrade. I primarily play mostly Redbook CD's (3000+ discs of all color and stripe, Rock, Jazz, R&B, Classical, Electric Blues, Etc.) on an OPPO BDP105BD which is a universal disc player with a highly regarded 32 bit Sabre Dac chipset { through which I can also feed a streaming service such as Tidal or whatever, as I have 1 gigabit internet service} which is then fed through balanced XLR cables to a Monolith, Alex Cavalli, Liquid Platinum, Hybrid tube Headphone amp, which came with Harmonix 6922 tubes as stock.A pair of HiFiman Arya headphones are plugged (again by balanced XLR) into the Cavalli. I have had this system for approx. 1 year thus assuring a well burned in system! (I know many think this whole "burning-in" thing to be pure hogwash but, let me assure you, at least IMHO, it MOST certainly is NOT.)Now for what you've been waiting for. The minute I plugged in the Gold Lions I noticed a palpable difference in the sound. After 3 hours of playing time even more so.I now have approx, 150+ hours on them and EVERYTHING I put on my player sounds PHENOMENALLY better. These tubes in place of the stock 6922 they are shipped with, present very clear tonality w/strong signal gain, excellent headroom and more incredibly,... have opened up the soundstage {which after about 250 hours w/ the Harmonix 6922, was already pretty wide}.... while providing an increase in soundstage in both depth and width (which is especially noticeable on classical music, obviously due to how an orchestra is recorded)....but also on all other genres, whether studio or live recorded! The Gold Lions also provide a signal transparency and clarity over all points of the recorded spectrum, micro details that I never noticed from any music source seem to have appeared transcendentally ! I've A/B compared a lot of recordings that I am most familiar with and instruments are allowed to bloom fully! Tight but authoritative bass even down low to maybe15 hz. I probably can't distinguish it, but my ears or the attendant flexible bony structure within my head are sensing something they never did before! The midrange is completely developed; I mean the entire spectrum of the midrange (low/medium/high)....on delicate and especially complex passages of music, so that all instrumentation and vocalizations are given PLENTY of "headroom" or air to develop more fully than w/ the stock tubes. High end treble also gives superior reproduction. I was a percussionist/drummer back in the day and I am aware of what proper cymbal decay trails sound like in real life. I also noticed that these tubes are very forgiving, so much so, that even on early Rudy Van Gelder Jazz recordings "splash cymbals" don't sound so sibilant {always, at least IMHO,} the definitive test of good/ better/ best,... treble reproduction.I don't mean to belabor the point (and rarely do I gush about a piece of technical equipment UNLESS it really bears notice) but overall,......I would judge the Matched Triode, Gold Lion Tubes (Kudos to Tonal Tubes for doing such a terrific job in said close matching.....or at least that's what an included label in the box claimed) ......to have SUPERB CLARITY and DETAIL, FLOWING OVER the ENTIRE MUSICAL BANDWIDTH and WIDE, DEEP, SOUNDSTAGE.To my ears these are reminiscent of vintage NOS matched Amperex E88CC tubes which are extremely rare and expensive IF you can find a LEGIT pair of them nowadays! They are robust sounding tubes that deliciously and warmly embrace the low and mid ranges whilst delivering fidelity to the high end that does not compete but rather, compliments the total sound spectrum delivering presence, placement, and a very wide and deep soundstage! AND,....just imagine how wonderful they will sound after a few more hundred hours of proper break-in! Frankly, I can't wait!UPDATE: 2/14/2022.....These sound on my system with these tubes just keeps getter sweeter and more refined! Just put on my "big rig" stereo and hooked the Cavallo into my auxilliary input and WHOA! Just phenomenal! My headphone rig equally so, almost like fine wine getting better w/age!!Hey fellow music enthusiasts, I spend a small fortune in time, energy, and moola on buying and listening to stuff here on amamzon, so if this review was HELPFUL....well, you know what to do! Many thanks!

Black Friday had some nice deals this year and it caused me to buy myself a pair of Focal Clear MG's and a Monoprice Liquid Platinum amplifier to push them. Input is from my Marantz preamp over XLR. I liked the headphones and the amp, but it seemed to be missing a good soundstage. The clarity was great, but the separation between sounds was just not there. After doing a bit of research I found that these seemed to be regarded as a good quality pair of tubes. I decided to try them out and, wow. I am floored by the difference a pair of tubes make. Every sound is now distinct, and the soundstage is dramatically improved. I am incredibly pleased.

I was on the fence how much tubes could affect the sound of a hybrid amp, especially because I have tried multiple tubes including 1975 holy grails and 1975 Voskhod, noticing some minor changes to bass and treble, but nothing mind blowing. These, however, gave the sound significantly more holography and harmonics. The decay is massive, but doesn't interfere, giving a very spacious sound. Great bass with little to no bloat, very clean treble with no sibilance, even on sibilant-prone tracks. Very impressed and would recommend.

These came in the manufacturer thin cardboard boxes with no padding or foam. The outer envelope was lightly padded but the package of tubes was loose inside. One of the tubes has a high pitched whine which I confirmed by swapping channels and the sound follows the one tube. I tried burning them in for a day or so playing music through my headphones but the whine still won't go away. I won't make the mistake of ordering tubes off amazon again, going to use more reputable sellers in the future which have the same price point.

I am so intrigued I want to learn how this actually works from a technical aspect. When I changed out the stock tubes of my Dared MP-5BT HiFi Audiophiles Professional Valve Amplifier I was not expecting anything more than slight nuances in clarity of highs and maybe cleaner bass, wow was I wrong! It was as if I purchased an entirely new sound system from speakers to amps. The sound became multi dimensional, an atmos affect of sorts. Not only was it clearer you can hear way more details including the sound of fingers nails and pics moving along guitar strings, the music came alive as if you were live center stage. I am in awe and amazed. I want to know how in the h ll this works? It's truly mind boggling. Over the months they have even gotten better and better they are truly amazing and worth every penny! It took my music listening to a whole new level physically. Enjoy them as I have, they are truly something to transform your system many levels higher beyond expectations.

improves system in full range music, imaging, soundstage, price was decent for quality

Can't compare to my Siemens Halske E88CC but cheap though. Reasonable tubes but nothing to shout about

I recently picked up a Parks Budgie used on an aUction site. It came with the stock EHX 6922 tubes as well as vintage Mullard and Sylvania rolling options. Being mentally ill, I quickly ordered vintage Amperex 7308 and Bugle Boy 6DJ8 tunes for further rolling, plus a pair of these brand new and modern Gold Lions.Even without any real burn-in time, these Gold Lions are the current front-runners. A wonderful combination of warmth, detail, depth and soundstage. Several of my other options sound very good, but the Gold Lions open things up in a way I wasn’t getting with the other tubes. “Holographic,” if you will. And, of course, I expect these tubes to bloom further with repeated use.I am impressed but not entirely surprised. I preferred Gold Lion 12AX7s in my previous phono preamp. I will admit, however, that I expected one of the several vaunted vintage options to win my little tube roller shootout this time around.Everything is system-specific and there are no guarantees in life, but I recommend the Gold Lions if you’re working with a tube phono preamp.