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New Preamp arrived....

So a few short hours ago my Quicksilver Line Stage Preamp arrived. It will be replacing a Schiit SYS passive that was bought to be able to implement the first piece of the puzzle, the power amp, and be able to sell my cheapo integrated.

its been 20 months since the power amp arrived so today was super exciting.
I hook it all up (and reverse the speaker connections as it says it inverts phase) and...

Well its every bit as clean and clear as the Schiit. Bass is a little better. The volume knob can actually be turned further to get as loud as the Schiit which was surprising. The treble has some sizzle on the very top end which I’m assuming will work itself out over time. Not much different in the bass department.

My fear going in was it’d sound the same which would add a heavy dose of buyer’s remorse ($1300 vs $50). It’s got the stock JJ 12AT7 tubes and I have a pair of NOS RCA black plates coming next week.

So what kinds of things can I expect for the first few days/weeks?
gochurchgo
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,500 posts
 
For non-permanent room treatments, reach out to Michael Green Audio.  Michael is a friend and offered me some good advice as a consumer and as I have moved into the business.  

He specifically has a "Room-Tune" kit that consists of stuffed fabric panels that can be attached with thumb tacks so really not permanent.  He also has a forum though it has been a little less active over MR 6 months.  

He can offer a POV on where to place panels.  The nice thing is for a normal room pricing is in the hundreds, not thousands

Here is the link to Michael's site:
https://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,500 posts
 
Regarding your overall placement, proximity to the sidewall should be less of an issue but the imbalance with one side reflecting and the other not has to be interesting.  I had a similar scenario in a home theater and move to a smaller satellite speaker (Sunfire HRS SAT).  But that was home theater and seven channel offers very different imaging.  


gochurchgo OP
923 posts
 
@twoleftears  100% agreed and an exciting thing as well. I have a set of NOS RCA black plates here and a set of Phillips 7062 on the way.  Mullards will be my next set. This is my first piece of tube gear so it’ll be fun to roll tubes.

@verdantaudio I’ll check out his site and investigate that kit. I’ve had this issue all along and the speakers and room are the only constants.
gochurchgo OP
923 posts
 
So here’s a thing. I was cleaning house while streaming an album. It sounded thin and kind of sterile. I decided to throw the same album on (LP) and it was anything but.

Before, streaming music was un-dynamic and just very ho-hum. Now it’s thinner and a little more dynamic with emphasis on the upper mids and highs. My vinyl setup is so much better! Ballsy sound for the most part. Would this indicate the active preamp is exposing the DAC (Topping D30) to be thin? 
Digital: AppleMusic via ATV4K -> optical -> Topping D30 -> 1/2 meter Evergreen RCA to preamp.

Analog: Pro-Ject DC + 2M Blue -> LC-1 -> Lounge LCR III -> Monster RCA to preamp

Just a thought as they’ve never sounded to finally different.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,960 posts
 
My vinyl setup is so much better! Ballsy sound for the most part. Would this indicate the active preamp is exposing the DAC (Topping D30) to be thin?
@gochurchgo

Yes. This is a common comment vis a vis analog vs digital. The Topping is great for the bucks but analog shows it up pretty fast.


You've probably had people tell you this but its a bit tricky to get good bass with the speakers on the long wall as you have in your room. It looks like the short walls are out of the question so if you want more punch move the speakers as close to the wall as you can- that will allow the room boundary to help you out on the bottom end, but you may run into troubles with the soundstage. Like I said- tricky.
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