Genelex Gold Lion 5AR4/GZ34 Rectifier Tubes

[JJinID]

I just received the two Gold Lion 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tubes for the ModWright LS100 and PS 9.9 external power supply used with the modified Oppo 105 this evening! Based on everyone's high regard for the Gold Lion tubes on this forum, and some positive comments made by ModWright owners who have recently purchased these, I decided to give them a try. I'm going to start burning them in this weekend, and will report back on how they perform. I'm currently using NOS Mullard rectifier tubes based on Dan Wright's recommendation and help, along with Sophia Electric 6SN7s as the driver tubes in both components.

[HedgeHog]

Interesting, JJ. I'm curious to your opinion.

I've tried the Emissions Labs 5U4G mesh and the Phillips 5R4GYS in the MW PS9.9 and liked both significantly over the OEM tube. The 5U4G offered noticeably deeper bass while the Phillips sounded slightly more even.

I got the Sophia's per Dan's recommendation...while good, I liked the PSVANE CV181 TII more and now I've been running Tung Sol 6F8G with a Woo Audio adapter. The TS sounded smoother but I felt the PSVANE had nicer high frequency definition. The Sophias were nice too but the others sounded more involving.

I tried Genalex Gold Lion 6922 in my Pathos Acoustics and hated them. The Siemens and Telefunken were so much better. Not sure how the rectifier tubes will be though.

Good luck!

[JJinID]

Thanks Hedwig for the reply. Still breaking in, but short term report is that the differences are there but not hugely pronounced so far. The Gold Lions seem a bit more quiet in terms of noise floor, and there is somewhat tighter and deeper bass. Also perhaps a bit more resolution to the sound. High frequency extension seems similar, but overall balance is different. The Mullards do have more midrange bloom and perhaps a shade more texture that I like with vocals. More listening and break in to come...

I do still want to try out the Psvane driver tubes in place of the Sophias in one of both of my units, and will do so after the first of the year.

[JJinID]

I thought I'd report back in on this thread. I've decided that the Gold Lion GZ34 rectifier tubes will remain in both my LS100 and PS 9.9. I've heard others state that they don't pair well with the Sophias and sound too harsh when combined with them but I'm not hearing that. I am hearing better, tighter bass, increased dynamics, and a cleaner high frequency presentation. My system and speakers do lean a bit to the warm side, so perhaps in a more bright system this pairing might be overpowering, but I really like the change in what I'm hearing and think it's for the better. The Mullards do have a more lush midrange, but it's minor relative to the other improvements I'm hearing.

Down the road I will still try out some of the Psvane 6SN7s in place of the Sophias but for now I'll enjoy what I have as I really like how it sounds!

[Mossback]

Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z in Dan's 105 are what I use. I have not tried Sophias only good vintage 6SN7's. Metal base Sylvania or TungSol round plate are sweet but saved them for the preamp the new Treasures are a good match for the -105.