I have been running JAN Sylvania 6922s for some time now it seems, though I thought I had another pair of 6922s before that.

I have been running a NOS RCA rectifier and a Cryotone rectifier before that, though I switched the Cryotone to my line stage.

I was running new Tung Sol EL34s, and then tried some new Gold Lion KT77s but one of them blew.  So I have the KT77s back in.  

I have a new tonearm coming this week, so I will probably install it and see how things sound before doing any rolling.  Though I have targeted the input tubes as the next to roll, recognizing every change does something new or unexpected.

I'm jealous!

I've been a big fan of Jason Isbell since his Drive-By Truckers years.

I've looked into those cruises before but I have watched too many ship disaster movies to be comfortable.

My wife loves cruises though, she will be leaving for one in Europe in a couple of months.

A few performance pictures from our Cayamo 2026 cruise for your enjoyment.


The immensely talented Tommy Emmanuel.


That band from Chapel Hill, NC Watch House.


Jason Isbell & The 400 on the pool deck.

HK

Enjoying the wonderful lineup on Cayamo 2026 as we cruise the Caribbean with many music loving souls. It's an annual event for us now.

HK

Art Pepper "Promise Kept: The Complete Artists House Recordings" Omnivore 5 cd box set.



Art Pepper with George Cables, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins on the album "Stardust"



Great band!

Bill Evans "Haunted Heart" Craft Recordings 3 cd set, disc 1



Re-visiting this excellent set. On another board many are not satisfied with the sound of this set which really puzzles me as I think the mastering is phenomenal, better than earlier versions they prefer.

Tiziana Ghiglioni "A Lucio Battisti" Philology cd

I picked this up for 99 cents and it's quite interesting. I had never heard this Italian singer before, but she sounds very nice here with great accompaniment.

James also makes a very good point about the synergy between input tubes (any other tube actually) and the rectifier.

A reliable and "hard to keep out of the amp" rectifier I have found and settled on for my CSP3 and "Zen" amp (and before the Dynagrid Jr. in my main system} is the Psvane 274B-Z. I would agree with Psvane when it describes this tube as "warm and refined." That is its central characteristic--I'd add evenly dynamic. It could be just the right component to give you that extra bit of warmth without heavy density.

Some really great knowledge and advice from James and Will here.

My little contribution: remembering back to when I had an earlier version of the Rachel in both my main and then a bedroom system (quite some time ago!) I found the amp to have a unique character among the Decware stable.. . with the EL34 type tube and the differing topology than the Torris. It tended towards a fuller sound in comparison and I think a PCC88 can be a good fit, I was using Philips with a halo getter for a spell when the amp was in the larger or two rooms, and an interesting Sylavnia 7308 in the smaller bedroom system.  These rooms were untreated and seemed to foster a leaner sound, so I did perhaps seek a bit more bass in my sonic quest. As Will mentioned I would also look into input tubes with a parasol or dimpled getter--quite a few of these in differing types I find to have very interesting facets to the sound that provide nice balances where I was seeking warmth and found a very satisfying clarity without unwanted coloration.

The system is slowly warming up after being off for some time--in a wind storm we lost power for 21 or 22 hours. Gosh, Lucinda and I had to talk to each other a lot! It was cold and we had no heat or water or TV or internet. . . luckily the power was restored at last.

Starting off with an album I really like: Rudy Royston "303". . . this work from the drummer being thoroughly modern and a nice recording. From 2014.





Bass – Mimi Jones or Yasushi Nakamura
Drums, Percussion – Rudy Royston
Guitar – Nir Felder
Piano – Sam Harris
Saxophones– Jon Irabagon
Trumpet – Nadja Noordhuis