Blueone302
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Thanks Dan! Just a word about the room because I think the line stage has helped it a bit. First, it's not my space. I'm a minister and this particular appointment had a parsonage. So I went from having a dedicated space that I owned and was able to do what I wanted with to making do with the space I'm in now. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice home. But as you might imagine, I can't do any treatments in the room. And, the room presents several issues both good and bad. (Based on my perception.) There is a 12 ft. bay window on the front wall, a recessed entry way off to the left that juts out the side wall on that side; a open door frame to the front right, and a set of french doors just to the right and behind the optimal listening position. It has proved difficult to work out the placement on several different speakers. However, a recent acquisition of a pair of HR1's has helped this immensely. They are definitely more forgiving. I relate all of this regarding the room because the pre has made everything better that I've put it in front of. And I've tried four different amps in the last 2 1/2 months. I could be wrong, but I'm convinced it has helped enhance the sound with some of the things the room might have muddied. At the same time, much trial and error arranging of the room has helped too. We've wore ourselves out moving the rug, sofa, love seat and two recliners around until we found that arranging everything in a wide horseshoe around and in front of that bay window somehow produces very good sound. But, I know for sure the pre helped it sound better. So, back to your comment about Don's Pre. I asked him to tweak it a bit further. For the output capacitors, I had Don add a pair of the Duelund CAST PIO-Cu/s. (Once they got about 100 hours on them, WOW) I also went overboard and added a quad of the Shuguang Black Treasure CV181z tubes. I've heard it with some NOS Sylvania 6SN7's too. The NOS tubes were very nice; but the Shuguang's are much better. They've definitely made a very audible difference. I also got the remote option.
To be honest, I was wanting to order Steve's new Pre. But, I felt like it was just too much to spend right now. So I went with Don and had some money left over. Then, as fate, or luck or perhaps divine intervention would have it, we got to hear a pair of the HR-1's and ended up buying them. If I had bought the new Pre from Steve, I couldn't have afforded the HR's anytime soon. At the moment, we are very happy with the sound. I think the component buying is done for the foreseeable future. But I'm sure there is some tweaking to do.
I would still like to hear Steve's pre. Actually I'd like to hear them head to head. Not sure that will ever happen. But, I do know that I am very happy with Don's iteration of the pre.
How do you like that phone stage? My brother in law is thinking of building himself one.
J
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Decware ZMA w/ mods, Don Sachs Model 2 line stage, Decware: HR-1’s w/mods, Cambridge Audio CXN (V2), Cambridge Audio CXC CD Transport, Ice Age Audio: Cryo Copper Power Cords, Better Cables: Silver Serpent Interconnect Cables, Maple Shade Double Helix V2+ Spkr Wire
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