Charles, not at all do I mind. I have really enjoyed the quality of the posts and individuals on this thread. Never did I imagine this thread would take off as it did--and still going strong! While there are many divergent opinions on gear we have associated with our DI's, one thing remains a constant--the DI's let you clearly experience the qualities of the gear you place upstream. It's hard to not spend a good amount of time sharing one's experiences.
Speaking of, I mentioned a few weeks ago I ventured into the world of valves. I have been very happy indeed with my Marantz Reference SACD/integrated driving my DI's. I find this gear to be very neutral top to bottom and extremely enjoyable to listen to for long hours at a stretch--never offensive yet not lacking in detail. But I wanted to see what tubes might bring to the table. I only considered intergrateds. (Just not a multi-boxed kinda guy for various reasons) Considered SET's and PP 's. Now don't cringe Charles/Mac/others, but settled on a Primaluna Dialogue HP that I picked up on this site. I felt that this might be a bit less limiting on the wide variety of music I listen to. I was also impressed with quality of the transformers and point to point construction. And at 63# I can lift it!
Remember how Julian Hirsch told us years ago that any properly operating amplifier sounds the same as the next. Wow. Wonder if he would have said that with a pair of DI's in his system.
So last night I was listening to the boxed set of Jacqueline Du Pre's EMI recodings, CD 7/Beethoven Cello Sonatas. I listened to this live recording over and over. I like to sometimes describe what I hear in visual terms. The Primaluna is certainly not a pastel watercolor painting. Rather an oil painting--deep color saturation, detailed facial features with beautiful light on the subject. Very nice contrasts are evident between the subject and background of the painting. Alright, enough of the visual analogy.
My Marantz is a master of composure. It never gets rattled when the musical waters get rough. With the above CD you had a mid hall seat. Musical crescendos were there but never with any edge. With the Primaluna you are closer the the front of the hall. So there is a bit more excitement. Dynamics are more startling. But there's never a free lunch it seems. On occasion the Primaluna would present a bit of an edge noted on the upper registers of the piano. (Here begins the tube rolling--what 12AU7 driver will mitigate that edge?)
Honestly, what amp I prefer most is dictated more by the recording. Same goes for the option of triode vs. ulrtalinear. But one thing for sure--the DI's make all the differences easily discerned.
