Don Sach's pre amp

@a_shah,

Mine will be walnut as well.

What rectifier tube have you been running? I am going to get a NOS Bendix 5852 to try.

For the 6SN7 tubes, Don is real high on the CV181z tubes so I am getting a matched pair of those from him to try. I have about 20 matched pairs of some real nice WWII era 6SN7 tubes I will be trying as well.

I would verify with Don before purchasing the Bendix; was informed when I bought a Lampizator Dac that the Bendix pulled twice the amount current than the standard 6X5GT.

Wig

Already done. The Bendix 5852 is fine in the Don Sachs line stage. It does take 30 seconds or so longer to warm up so you should turn the line stage on about a minute before the amp.

Yes Bendix 5852 is just fine  !  DS 2 has 6 volt rails, I picked up 2 pairs from Ebay , very inexpensive  the seller claims that they are tested on Hickok 6000 tester although one of them turned out to be micro-phonic the rest are good this rectifier "does improve the sound of Pre-amp." which is noticeable.
You should get a quad of CV 181-z , but if you already have 20 matched pairs of WWII era 6SN7 you should try them out
could you list the 6SN7 that you have ? thanks !

Problem with XLR on DS 2 is that the whole chain needs to be balanced, although I am using it with Zu mission XLR  cables and Gungnir DAC, the rest of the chain is single ended,
So I find the SQ  of XLR  for my ears to be  comparable  to RCA's.
 XLR maybe good for long runs or if you have ground loop or hum  but for short runs it is insignificant !