I don't have extensive experience with the 6L6/5881's but I've been very happy with vintage Tung-Sol 5881's. I haven't tried the reissue Tung Sol's but the originals are very plentiful. Many are well-used but if you're patient you should be able to find a quad that are NOS or test very strong. They don't command the atmospheric prices of a lot of older tubes, I'm sure because they are quite common. I've found several nicely matched quads at between $50 and $150.
In my AES/Cary AE-25 amp they are very musical and 'organic,' a pleasure to listen to.
Another interesting alternative is the early 80's Russian 6p3s-3, an equivalent to the 5881. I don't think they're quite as nice as the early Tung-Sol in my amp but they're ridiculously inexpensive from several sellers on ebay. They've been discussed extensively on audioasylum and the consensus is that the pre-1984 coin-base tubes are the ones to get. I've bought three quads online and they're definitely worth experimenting with.
In my AES/Cary AE-25 amp they are very musical and 'organic,' a pleasure to listen to.
Another interesting alternative is the early 80's Russian 6p3s-3, an equivalent to the 5881. I don't think they're quite as nice as the early Tung-Sol in my amp but they're ridiculously inexpensive from several sellers on ebay. They've been discussed extensively on audioasylum and the consensus is that the pre-1984 coin-base tubes are the ones to get. I've bought three quads online and they're definitely worth experimenting with.