Quote Originally Posted by Opti-cal View Post
Hi Barry,

thanks for going into such detail with your responses.

The last image is one I have stumbled across a few times whilst searching for threads regarding the 57's. The angle of the panels is a technique employed by some of the most expensive and exotic speakers available. Not that the expense or exclusivity makes them automatically superior, but with the amount they cost you would like to think they gained some accurate insight from the R&D of such projects.

Logic would also suggest that any slightly "grey" or weak areas of the listening experience with a single pair would be alleviated by the addition of the stacked pair without any loss in clarity or timing, assuming the beams cross at the listening position as you suggest.

I also have small plinths placed underneath the rear legs in order to tilt the speakers toward my listening height when sat in my listening position. I have considered making a new set of legs to do this properly but for now it works. As the speakers are currently on carpet I know I would likely benefit from having them properly spiked but again this may be a job for another time.

At the moment I'm just breaking in a completely new set of tubes with my new "upgraded" amplifier.

For the first time since I started critically and analytically listening to hifi, I am wholly satisfied.

All the tubes are barely broken in but its already a dramatic improvement.

Regarding the upgrades I followed quite a logical path. I simply looked to improve upon the current characteristics which I believe gives the system its sound. I was actually relatively satisfied with the current sound from my system so if the new parts didn't work I would happily revert to the previous configuration and put the new bits to use somewhere else.

I replaced the amp with the "2018 upgraded" version which has some nice caps, some silver point to point wiring and a much improved potentiometer.

Ideally I would (as advised) like a bit more power but the characteristics of my amplifier more than make up for this for now.
Combined with the fact this amplifier costs about 1/10th of the outlay I would have to spend on a "significant" upgrade, I think its a great stop-gap.

I replaced some new (Russian) reissue Tung Sol 6SL7GT's (which are actually surprisingly good and a few of my guitar friends absolutely swear by them) with some NOS 70's Tung Sol's (USA made).

Then swapped my Svetlana Winged C 5U4G rectifier for a NOS RCA 5U4GB. Nothing wrong with the Svetlana but apparently the RCA is slightly better and getting rare so thought I should snap one up now.

Finally I replaced some brown base Psvane EL34B's (another very good tube in my system) with some Psvane 6CA7's T MKII's.


Normally I don't like replacing more than one element at a time so I can truly make an accurate evaluation as to whether the change has been an improvement or not. However as I know the other combination of tubes works very well, I couldn't resist throwing all of these in at once. If it proved to be a disappointment I would have then tried different combinations until I was happy again, but considering the improvement and the fact the new tubes have barely 3 hours on them I am keeping it the way it is.

Quite often I have found that changing something within the system yields a false improvement. By that I mean that the human ear reacts to something that is new or different and initially evaluates it to be a positive. However I have found after considered and prolonged listening that in fact, quite often something has actually been removed.

My evaluation of the new tubes and amplifier so far would be that everything is more full bodied, extended and generally more coherent. The bottom end is definitely tighter and less bloated but the "bloom" I find so addictive is still present and probably more so.

Dynamic passages of music have improved, so quieter parts seem softer yet more detailed and volume swings within a piece are more dramatic.

With vinyl the above mentioned effects are further enhanced.

I cannot wait to get home and continue to listen to the new tubes and amplifier break in. I think this is my favorite stage of hifi ownership.

Hello Chris,

Oh that is so true. I'm often amused by enthusiasts who upon making a change to their system will report that the difference is "night and day" or some other form of hyperbole. Quite often there is a difference, even a marked difference, but a difference is not necessarily the same as an improvement. I too have been caught out by this expectation bias (especially if the change made has been expensive). So now I will make a change, and if I think the change has made an improvement I will live with it for a week or more, then I will revert back to the situation before the change. Quite often the perceived improvement was false, or not an actual improvement, but simply different.

Regarding your 'tube rolling', it all sounds like fun. I have to confess that I'm not really a tube enthusiast, though a couple of sets of Quad II amps passed through my system, and I do have a Radford valve amp as a spare. But I have never spent much time with trying out different valves made by different manufacturers; I just took it for granted that whatever brand the amplifier manufacturer had chosen was the best for that amp. To that end, the Quads used GEC MO valve company KT66s with Mullard EF86s, and now the Radford uses Mullard (Blackburn Road) EL34s with either Mullard, Telefunken or Siemens & Halske small signal valves and a Mullard GZ34 rectifier.

What is the valve amp you are using? I'm sure there are other valve users here, better qualified than I am, who could advise you re tube rolling. It might be a good idea to start a separate thread to discuss this; that way it will receive more attention than leaving discussion in the Welcome thread.

Regards
Barry