kt 88 vs kt88

Oh, I thought you were posting about the spelling (with or without a space). This is a much better question - I look forward to the answers. Fwiw, I have only used JJ KT88s and have been very happy with them.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72282.0

Interesting thread

Gold Lion KT88 lives up to it's reputation. To compare the lions offer great detail and a smooth silky sound and bass is more controlled. This is a quieter tube. 100+ hrs breakin time.
I would not consider anything else for my Conrad gear.

I'll second the Gold Lion recommendation. Changing out the stock tubes in my Audio Space ref. 3.1 integrated with the Gold Lions was a significant improvement. After approx. 100 hrs the change was a major improvement.

I have to jump on the Gold Lion bandwagon.I had EH in my amp and they sounded kind of "sterile"{for lack of a better word).The GL's really mellowed out the glare in the HF and the bass was significantly better in all ways.The midrange is superb.The sound kept improving until about 30-35 hours then it settled out.Remember,this was my experience with my equipment.You may have a totally different experience with yours.I highly recommend you give them a try.If you don't like them,you will have no trouble reselling them.Good luck.