tubes and analog

Audiofeil - a "shill" eh? Come on, gimme a break. Who has something to sell here and works in the industry, not me. Perhaps you should look up the definition before you use words you don't understand.

I think Doug's post above may be leading us in the right direction to explain the original posters questions. I looked up the specs on the Primaluna and found that it's input impedance is 100K Ohms which seems unlikely to be the issue, but it's input sensitivity is 270mV. Couldn't find any specs on the AES unit, but wouldn't the Primaluna be easily overdriven with a .27V input sens.?

The Graham slee unit had much more detail across the board...mostly in the lower end. Basically the Graham slee gave me "punchy" base where as the AES tube unit was very "muddy" in comparison. Further, the Graham slee SS unit did not sound dry or lean in any way.

Csmithbarc,

Mab33's discovery re: the Prima Luna's input sensitivity mirrors what I found (but didn't post, since I wanted someone else to verify it - thanks, Mab33!). There's a case to be made that it's so low that many phono preamps will overdrive it. This can lead to all sorts of audio nasties, and their character will undoubtedly depend on the source doing the overdriving. How to tell? If the sound is especially distorted or unpleasing on dynamic peaks or strong, sustained vocals, your Prima Luna's input sensitivity is probably overloaded.

On "punchy" vs. "muddy" bass...

Have you tried different tubes in the AES? You've got a 12au7 regulating the power supply (I think) and 6SJ7's as signal tubes. Rolling different tubes into either of these locations will provide substantially different sounds. "Muddy" bass is characteristic of some tubes more than others. I don't have any specific recommendations for the tube types your AES uses, but as a rough guideline, look for tubes whose internal structures appear especially robust and "stable", in an architectural sort of way. Tubes built like this tend to have tighter bass than tubes with less solid internal structures.

Best,
Doug

Pualy...thosearenotmywords...I'mnotthatsmart. Just let this guy play audiohile. He's doing good and has $$$. Dealers will love him. It's when people like him hear a system like mine when they have a bad reality check.

I always look good, most always am right yet not always in control. I did figure out big spender's audio problem--unlike the *professionals*...

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I found myself reacting much as the first poster when I read this thread,in that cartridge change or upgrade might be your preferred path.With a Planar 9 it's well known that the Rega Exact cart rather than the Elys is the best match.Rega also have a new MC cart in their line called the Apheta now.I have always found it edifying to switch between cartridges and note how my system handled each one differently.Less expensive than switching between gear anyway.