Sony SCD XA5400ES tube rolling?

you guys who are not willing to do a little more work to optimize gear, go spend $15k on a digital player where they do that work for you. your choice.

i just wrote up the MW piece on positive feedback, and i specifically address user preferences like this. for those willing to 'mod the modder', it pays off, and gets you further, for less $$, than the alternative.

If you read the posts carefully you will see that the Mullards and Sophias were recommended by Dan Wright. This is not a case of second guessing the modder. It is a case of taking his recommendation on cost no object tubes. I am thoroughly impressed by his work and because of that, would willingly accept his advice on tubes, cables, power treatment, feet, or anything else that he wants to comment on.

i have been trying to find a reasonably priced pair of brimar 6sn7. i use some older brimar 12at7 and 12au7, so i would like to try brimar 67n7, circa the 50's.

Hey thanks for the helpful feedback guys(and to those who will post). @Rhyno & Erndog, yes I opted for the umbilical upgrade..no deliberation there. I also noticed Dan's comments regarding the Sophias. IMHO, he probably decided what's the best stock tube at a certain price ($20)each. Using the "Sophias A's" as stock, would have raised the price of the upgrade by $200.

For once, it's cool to see different results using different tubes. For solid state one is 'locked' into a certain sound and then having to live with it (playing with cables then I guess...). Judging from the reviews on the Sophias, most are using them in their preamps (and getting great results).

Brimar 6NS7s (cryo'd for me) are the best 6ns7s I have tried after some experimenting. I got mine from Brendan at Tubeworld, who recommended them to me. Nice and warm and resolved and evenhanded.