Are you also thrilled with Mercury Preamp?

Nak, the UV sounded good out of the box, but really opened up after a couple of weeks of playing. Consider trying a Brimar CV1988 tube. Its a very well balanced tube throughout the sonic spectrum. Other tubes that I like with the UV are the Tung-Sol black, round plate VT231, or for a lusher presentation, a dark glass RCA VT231.

I don't have, nor have I heard the Mercury, but I am simply thrilled to own a DeHavilland UltraVerve preamp. I've had the 6SN7 octal tube-based preamp for about a month now. To say that it has transformed my system is an understatement. It was the missing link that my system desperately needed. My system now is highly musical and involving, very natural sounding with a huge holographic soundstage, and has great imaging and detail.