While I continue to hear the unit breaking in, I think I may have found the problem. It appears to have been a few things.
1. I have moved the units around a bit. Previously they were side by side and about 3/4-inch apart. I have since flipped them left-to-right and separated 7 inches. Noise level has dropped noticeably. Current left-to-right arrangement: Control unit, Power supply, Turntable.
2. I have been swapping tubes on the Sunrise headphone amp and have possibly addressed the rest of the problems. I believe the (tested) 1956 GE W5751 was the main culprit, along with a Sylvania JAN 5751.
I was concerned that I did obtain a bad one (from Ebayer Salience_Shop aka Salience HIFI Audio) since I have no prior experience buying high end Chinese gear through Ebay.
The only difference I hear between the two switch positions is the expected gain reduction and slightly reserved or constrained dynamics. Otherwise, the distortion remained common.
I have heard some pretty obvious changes along the way and now it sounds much smoother and better definition, reduction in distortion. It continues to expand frequency response (ie digging deeper and improving the top octave) while macro dynamics improve. It still is somewhat constricted in this area.
The only concern I have at this point is the switch they added: if wiggled or lightly bumped, the sound cuts out both channels.
I appreciate the participation.
1. I have moved the units around a bit. Previously they were side by side and about 3/4-inch apart. I have since flipped them left-to-right and separated 7 inches. Noise level has dropped noticeably. Current left-to-right arrangement: Control unit, Power supply, Turntable.
2. I have been swapping tubes on the Sunrise headphone amp and have possibly addressed the rest of the problems. I believe the (tested) 1956 GE W5751 was the main culprit, along with a Sylvania JAN 5751.
I was concerned that I did obtain a bad one (from Ebayer Salience_Shop aka Salience HIFI Audio) since I have no prior experience buying high end Chinese gear through Ebay.
The only difference I hear between the two switch positions is the expected gain reduction and slightly reserved or constrained dynamics. Otherwise, the distortion remained common.
I have heard some pretty obvious changes along the way and now it sounds much smoother and better definition, reduction in distortion. It continues to expand frequency response (ie digging deeper and improving the top octave) while macro dynamics improve. It still is somewhat constricted in this area.
The only concern I have at this point is the switch they added: if wiggled or lightly bumped, the sound cuts out both channels.
I appreciate the participation.