Gopher,

I'm surprised that your speaker cables make that big a difference.

When I look at speaker cables, I can't figure out why they cost as much or more than my amp.

I'm currently using shotgun runs of these:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?cablspkr&1314681047

which are similar to the ZEN STYX.

***
Steve called me today about my hum issues (solved).

He said rolling the input tubes will make the most difference.

I pulled my Torii and tried it at a buddy's house that has a fully treated room, and Daedlus Ullysses speakers and it held its own against a Shindo Auregies-L/TubeGuru F2a push pull mono setup.  

Ultimately the Shindo/TG had a little more body and better low end impact and a much bigger stage then the Torii.  This was strange to me as the Torii has the best harmonic development and bass I've ever heard with my speakers.  I did wonder if his crossover was part of the issue vs. my cross-less speakers.

I also was surprised to find, at least in his rig, we both preferred NOT having the Shindo in the chain...  Cleaner, more liquid sound direct from his tricked out Tranquility SE DAC.

I think this amp may benefit from a pre, but the urgency of my quest for one is significantly lessened--the Torii handled itself WELL.

Ohh, and we both felt the same way about the OA3s.  They were instant losers as soon as plugged in.  I will do my due diligence and try to burn them in some, but I dont' think they're for me.

Will,

These are the OA3:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280705099877&ssPageName=ADME:...

Perhaps they are just a garbage make and/or need burn in.  I was actually excited to throw them in as we were wanting for a touch more body and bass in my buddy's rig, but that is not what we got when we swapped 'em.

I'm not sure his speakers have changed their positioning in the last 4 amps my buddy has owned, but I think he's stayed pretty consistent with Sablon audio cables.  Today we did introduce some of my Wywires into the mix and found ourselves preferring mixes of both cables to only one or the other which is a major praise for the Sablon as my Wywires are exquisite

In addition his room treatments are pretty comprehensive, though done without measurements.  He's got a pretty  rectangular room and has GIK all around (this is the friend I shared the big used score with).   All reflection points are treated and he's experimenting with sprinkling in some diffusiors.

If you want to experiment, I'll toss you a couple on me.  Chances are I won't be using any of the six anyway at this rate.

Ah ha, won the tubes on ebay, 7 tubes for 18 dollars total. Got lucky.

I know will, I'm being very wary. This time if I go crazy tube-rolling I might have to finally go on psych meds!

Just to further confuse the situation, I have some tube rolling news. I had recently purchased a matched quad of JJ 6CA7's as a backup for my Shuguang Treasure 6CA7-Z's. On a whim last night I substituted the JJ's for the Shuguang's. The difference was NOT subtile. The brand new JJ's have MUCH deeper,  more expressive bass. The highs are still a little rough but they are THERE. Not reticent or subdued but THERE. Now I am upset that I can't fold time and just jump through the breakin process.

Just to be clear, the JJ 6CA7's are NOT EL34's in a different bottle. They are a different tube. However, they are electrically identical to the EL34 and are a direct replacement. The pinouts are the same for both so the Hazen Grid mod applies. As for quality, on visual inspection the JJ tubes appear to be well made. After 15 hours iof use, nothing has self destructed.

I am using SED 5U4G blakplate regulators. I still have the original RCA 0A3's in place. I subsequently did some experimenting with the 0C2's.

I tried the 0A2 and found it made my system sound very dull. Not restriced in the highs but just dull. The 0B2's are much better than the 0A2's. While the 0A2's sounded dull and lifeless, the 0B2's had a more extended presentation.

It took a couple of days to find out the 0B2's flattened the sound. The soundstage simply disappeared. In replacing the 0C2's I found one of them to be defective. I purchased a new set and installed them. The sound now be best described as juicy.

Juicy as is in wet and lucid not syrupy or sugar coated. There is now an "aliveness" to the sound that has not been there like this before. If you happen to download the 24/96 recording of Ella and Louis from HDTracks and play "You Can't Take That Away From Me", you will know what I mean. It is more than just "you are there". There is now a real sense of palpability, that just reach out and touch sensation.

I am certain something will change and everything will have to be adjusted. I am really enjoying what I have right now.