i’m curious, in your comment below, are you referring to modern day production russian made gold lion kt77’s -- or -- the true-blue old stock british gec/mo-valve/genalex gold lion kt77’s?
in my experience, i still find the real deal british kt77’s to be the absolute pinnacle of all el34 equivalents, a step above even british mullard or dutch amperex el34’s.... silky smooth yet extended highs, dense yet tactile and delicate midrange with a beautiful spotlighting effect, and terrific control and slam down low (which the mullards lack to a degree) ...