tube upgrade for first sound

Guido -
:-D Got it yesterday! It arrived in good shape. Whew! As I type this it has been burning in for 31 hours. Not sure where to begin talking about it. The build quality? Unbelievable! Yes it's heavy. When you open the top, you can't help but be impressed at the absence of cricuit boards. Point to point soldering all the way! Meticulously done I might add.

The sound? The first moment I heard it (forget about waiting for a listen) The power of the unit struck me. There was a visceral quality to the music. Keep in mind, up till now I've been strictly SS. It definitely likes the Krell. :-) The sounds created were clean and clear. The Sound stage was a bit narrow in the first hour of its life, but what is to be expected at that point.
Since then, stage has definitely grown. Immages are clearly taking their places in space. Highs? Beautiful already. Bass? About as good as my SS set up. With the promise of deeper and more defined bass on the way. That says alot for a 1 day old TUBE pre! I could go on. No syrupy sweet sound! Thats a good thing to me. I suppose if one wanted 'sweet', various tubes would do that trick. Only AFTER the break in though - as requested by Emmanuel :-) Natural is the word that comes to mind. Well balanced, nothing over emphasized.
But the thing that actually blows me away about this whole process - almost more than the preamp itself - is the fact that today 3/25, I recieved 3 emails from Emmanuel himself.
WOW! He is truly interested in me and my unit, and how it works within my system. AMAZING! He has given me tips and advice as to, what to do during break in, and what to expect during the process.
I'm sure I made the right choice in this endless sea of audio gear. Quality/Performance/Support - what else can you ask for? I'm impressed by the unit and by the MAN - Emmanuel Go. Believe me - It takes ALOT to impress me. I'm happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability that you or anyone else has.

I just noticed someone is selling a FS here on Agon. Why would they want to? I would jump on it knowing what i know now.
:-)

Paul

well done Paul! I am sure you will have many audio revelations with your new toy, and welcome to tubes.

After a month or so, do look into an upgraded power cord (electraglide, shunyata elrod come to mind), do look at platform/isolation system (Aurios), and since there is so much info here to guide you, do look at NOS tubes. In the meanwhile, enjoy that thing and once agian, welcome to the club of happy FS owners.

As to ther person selling his, he may be looking to upgrade up the FS line - who knows....

Congrats Paul. Make certain to follow Emmanuel's advice ... break in from the wall and stock for 30 days... and like Art suggested, a good powercord goes a long way on this preamp! I would highly recommend an Electraglide powercord, the "entry level" Mini Khan Plus can be had used for about $500 here on the 'Gon and does wonders, improved by the Ultra Khan II, as well as the Epiphany... depends on the cash outlay you want to spend.

After that you may want to look into NOS tubes, and there are threads on various tubes and the "house" sound they give in that preamp that are really quite accurate.

All in all, do follow the 30 day break in as you will "learn" the stock sound of the preamp, which will be hard to imagine it could improve at about 25 days... but it only gets better. :)

Congrats again on an excellent choice.

Artg & Audiofankj -
Thanks for the support. Making the decision was the hardest part of all. I just didn't want to make a mistake. I sure I didn't. :-) Still waiting for the bass to break loose. I't only been 4+ days though. :-)
So the breakin continues for a month? Is that 24/7 playing all the way? Thanks guys.

paul

One of the OA2's in my FS went out, so when I ordered replacements from New Sensor yesterday, I also ordered a pair of the EH Gold Pin 6922, which Emmanuel suggested I try. Not NOS and less than $30. I forget if this tube has been discussed here. Has anyone tried it?

By the way, the only reason I knew that the OA2 went out is that I happened to peak through the side vents and did not see the blue glow on one side. Of course, it *seemed* like things weren't sounding quite right, but the preamp definitely still worked even without the functioning regulator tube.