What is the "best" of the 5881 Tubes.

Tubby, you won't be disappointed with the Onix XCD-99 CD player. I own the XCD-88 which is virtually the same as the XCD-99 aside from cosmetic differences. I bought a B-stock unit from AV123 as I wanted something that would match the SP3's grey metal fascia. The B-stock unit was in excellent condition when I received it and it has been very satisfying to listen to. I plan to upgrade the unit through Underwood Hi Fi in the near future as AV123 will continue to honor the three year warranty even after Underwood Hi Fi's modifications. If you want to save some more money, call AV123 and ask if they have any B-stock XCD-99 or XCD-88 units available. They back up their B-stock units with the standard three year warranty. All-in-all, this CD player matches up very well with the SP3 integrated amp for a very musical combination.

Bernard991, please keep us informed about your mod plans. I think you've posted some information about this on the AV123 forum, correct? Anyway, your post has me searching for NOS tubes 6922's and 12AU7's.

Rhing ..yes you are correct I did post in AV123 ...I like the power of a forum .. a group think ;)
I lucked out and bought a few of the USA Amperex's from a guy in Viet Nam , they were left there ..brand new when the US pulled out in '73 what a treasure !
off the topic I have a Musichall CD25 that I bought as a transport ..the previous owner did surgery and disabled the onboard DAC ...it works fine for me as I have a Ack dac , I have just ordered the Tentlabs X02 clock /PS so I will do that first and listen to the SP3 as is then break open the solder ...and see where it goes
will post it all ..
I have ONE other question ...has anyone had experience using new power tubes other than 6L6GC's ???...I have heard rumors of people using KT66's but only that nothing conclusive ...it is difficult to get any tech info out of AV123 re biasing voltage potential on the SP3
cheers !

Can anyone find an "open door" (so to speak) to the techs or service at Melody Audio in Australia ? I believe that they would be the ones to have the most expertiese in the Bia's and limitations of the SP-3. My only hesitation would be a gentle "toe stepping" on AV123 or perhaps causing a potiential problem between Melody and them.
However:
It is important for us (the owners and potential owners) to know the operational parameters of this fine amp. The "known" is:
5881's, 6l6's and KT66' all have different bias voltages (as: 6550 vs KT88/KT90).
(just cant seem to spell today). Any-who, It is the fine folk's at AV123 that should be saddled up to the boys down under to find a answer to our madness.

Tubby

totally agree Tubby !
maybe this might bring some much needed information to us re the BIASing issue .....
its hard to imagine how there are no schematics out there ...what happens if one actually breaks ?

I would like to think that there is a "magic" bowl that is always filled with new (and replacement) amps at AV123. As reality may have it, however, we are perhaps Guinney Pigs stuck in a tub of volts.
Being the dumb A that I am, I have the honor of using the "new and improved" version of "WebTV". It will not allow me to access the "Melody" website. ... Just about, but not quite. I "can" get on the "Euro." version, but it is in French (or something like it).
Melody (in it's own right) is big Doo-Da in Europe. Melody makes (or engineers) a gaggle of amps (plus some other candy). They must make amps over in Australia to keep their minds off the sharks. Although I have know some sharks that were Audiophiles (check under "Feedback").
I now have 2 quads of 6L6's coming in. One quad is from JJ and another a China Electron. I'll start at 1.15 Volts to 1.4/5 Volts. I will understand that the lower D Volt D higher D Ampre (say Ohm-me). I just don't want to take out the resister that is there (just waiting) for me to do that.