@decooney Thanks for your perspective regarding my system. My BEL amp was manufactured in 2007 so it has a few years let in it prior to needing a refresh. Not sure what I would replace it with, possibly a Pass XA25. Looking forward to playing with the Aric preamp. I am using a Audio Mirror Tubadour DAC III which provides a great soundstage. I will look into the 6sn7 tubes you suggested.
I agree with you that the non-remote Quicksilver pre is great value.
Comparing your SS to SS:
Yes, the Pass XA25 is nice, would likely be my choice for $ IF I ever went back to SS amps and a smaller room. A buddy who bought my former modded Cary V12R went back and forth several times with the XA25, liked both, but the larger tube V12R with 50wpc Triode / 100wpc ultra linear one his heart over, XA25 got returned. I sold that lovely V12R to try the QS 120 Monos for some larger custom speakers - 2x the transformer foot print too. The QS Mono 120s closed the gap on power, added dynamics for my larger 92.5db speakers. Had to change inputs to NOS tubes to make it a more fair comparison. Much closer to the big Cary now. Deciding on caps now to make it a fair competition. re: SS, yes, I still look at Nelson’s Monoblocks mainly because I grew up in Pass Land and admire his work, worked at the same speaker Co too :) when I was younger. He truly gets "soundstage", kinda like your BEL has. For your own comparison IF you need to compare for power and dynamics (compared to your BEL), in all fairness maybe something like the Pass 60.8 monos or 100.8 amp to be fair. Your BEL is no slouch on grunt at 200wpc, right? Yes, XA25 is nice, but not 200wpc like the BEL. It’s all speaker dependent. Now XA25 with the right Harbeths could be nice too :). I continue to admire how Nelson works very hard to make SS sound like tube! (i.e. lower power Firstwatt SIT-3), Pass XA25, etc.
QS Linestage Pre vs remote version:
Clarification (Quicksilver LineStage Preamp, non-remote version) is a "value" not only because it’s less cost, MANY will argue its the more purest preamp because it "sounds better" "more musical" than the QS remote control version preamplifier (different design, different volume control). Side by side many say the lower cost Linestage is the ticket for sound, and you are only dealing with TWO tubes, makes vintage NOS upgrades low cost, easy, less noise! Most cave and go for the more exp remote version. I ended up keeping my former Cary Audio 6SN7 preamp now paired with the Quicksilver Mono 120s and it’s very very nice. Love it, actually. Pairing Brand-A with Brand-B can be done but it’s always a gamble til you actually try it.
