Its not a super regret--they aren't THAT rare, but it may cost me a few hundred bucks to do the experimenting I should have as it appears I sold the Shindo for less then I could have as prices seem to be going up.

I've got my money on the Torii over the Modwright, but I haven't really been a fan of any MW equipment I've heard in the past...   SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR monos?  You, or your friends play in a very different league than I!  Which amps are those?  

As much as I'd like to cheer for the little guy, that is quite the price disparity...

I understand that temptation for a preamp, and also that it's not really needed.

I use a CSP2 in front of the Torii Mk III now, didn't used to, but it has convinced me. The CSP2 has gobs of gain and the gain output is adjustable and it amazes me how the sound can be tailored. Now it's hard to be without it. An amazing preamp for the money.

Though I do often run a source straight into the Torii and I'm totally satisfied with the sound. So I don't need it.

But I do.

No, I don't.

Yes, I do.

Hey I didn't come here looking for an argument, I swear.

Man, the Ultra makes absolute stunning sense for multi-channel use (and allowing you a killer two channel usage as well). The moment I digested what it could do I thought "This is among the best preamps possible for a multi-channel tube nut!" If I could I would go the route you've gone. . . .Maybe with a new home and a new salary I would in the future. It's going to be the bomb!

It looks like I got my OA3s in the mail today and I'm looking forward to plugging them in and doing some listening tonight--I actually have the house to myself for the evening.

I pulled my Wywires speaker cables from my system to send them back in for an updating and in their place I put my Zu Mission speaker cables...  significant loss in harmonic foundation and texture--will be nice if this restores the balance for the time being...

Technically, the change has to do with the the new wire having twice the number of Litz conductors per leg and a smaller cross section for each conductor. Dielectric and connectors are the same.

No I haven't, and I expect the Decware stuff is probably pretty darn good, but I'm Wywired throughout and have no desire to change cabling.

Those may change a bit in break-in but the same character and nature would likely be there.

I haven't done any tube-rolling with that rectification tube; I am afraid to lose the sound that I have now with the tubes that the amp arrived with.

Gopher, My experience with my stock OA3s (RCA coke bottle shape) does not quite sync with yours. But I have noticed that VR tubes have a sound for sure, depending on the tube, so who knows.

With the ones I have tried, it sounds to me like the individual tube sound difference (say different OB3 brands) is subtler than how the different voltages effect the grid voltage and therefore how the tubes that follow sound. And it is bound to be system dependent as is everything else.

What I hear from my OA3s compared to Sylvania OB3s and then some Westinghouse OD3s, all coke bottles, .....is a natural sounding progression....The OD3, pushing the other tubes less, is most spacious textural, and soft...leaner. On the other end of the spectrum, the OA3 has more push/intensity/density throughout, so the mid and upper mid push is there, but is balanced by the increased low mids and bass density in my setup. The OB3 has an intensity in between the others with less push/density than the OA3 and more than the OD3. The final sense for me if I don't like the OA3 in a tube set is more that I don't like this overall push/intensity with some tube combinations....

So depending on the tendency of your tube combination in the context of your system sound, I can imagine that the extra push of the OA3 might bring out the mid/upper mid too intensely tending to harsh.

But if you really like the OD3 and the OA3 is unlistenable, this is extreme by my experience in my system.

As to burn in, when I replaced one of my OA3s, I don't recall a notable sound difference from the one I had been using, but maybe the replacement was somewhat used/burnt in? It was certainly not unlistenably more harsh and shrill.

I guess you have compared the OD3s with these speaker cables in place..... And played with the treble and bass knobs with the OA3s in? This might help the decision to see if you even want to burn them in?

I put my old regs back in and I'm still not feeling my sound.  Its the speaker cables...   I guess I just gotta hang in there till they come back and do a proper evaluation with the oa3s