Changes to older system

I’ve been listening to the Auralic Altair G1, NAD 2200PE, and the Zu ODWs, and it sounds pretty damn good now to me. Added a Musical Fidelity X10-D tube buffer, which I believe improved the highs and the dynamics. At a minimum it was a good impedance matched. Consequently, I’m thinking even more that adding a good tube preamp with a high-quality analog volume control instead of the buffer is the way to go next.

@soix @audphile1 @mesch I’d suspected I would replace the speakers, so I’d ordered a set of Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekends that recently came in. That said, I put those upstairs while the other system was downstairs, and now I’ve decided both to upgrade the old system, as well as build a new system upstairs around the Zus. I hear people have a love/hate relationship with Zu, but I love them! Right now I’m playing them using a TubeCube 7 from Tube Depot (3.5wpc) I had using an old Sonos Connect and cheap 24/192 DAC, and they sound great - believe it or not. I’d appreciate any recommendations particularly for an integrated tube amp, streamer, and DAC for that setup too.

@holmz @audphile1 You’re spot on with the sub recommendation. Got a used SVS SB-3000, and it’s helped with bass extension and seems to help the balance overall. The SVS website and app were enormously successful in setting it up and getting it integrated; although, I’d venture that, like most of us, I’m still refining that integration.

@16f4 I’d be surprised if you didn’t love the ODWs… I certainly do.

@ghdprentice I also thought a tube preamp may help, and I’m currently looking at an Audio Research SP-8. Unfortunately I’m only using digital sources, so the phono stage would be wasted, but I always loved that preamp nonetheless. Thoughts on that anyone, or any other tube preamp recommendations?

@jasonbourne52 Thanks for the placement recommendations - extremely helpful!

Just ordered an Auralic G1 Altair at the recommendation of a guy at Zu. He also recommended some tube integrated amps - one Luxman and two Icon Audio in my price range of $2-4k. Just picked up a used Audio Nirvana EL-84 to get a sense for the sound of that tube in a PP configuration on the Zu ODWs. A bit more oomph and better bass control. I still may prefer the SET sound from the TubeCube 7, but the AN EL-84’s starting to sound much better the more hours I put in it. I have a Decware SE34I.6 on order, but I’m playing around with other amps until it’s in a year from now. Also just read that Steve’s working on a 300B design that sounds intriguing.

I’m so conflicted about keeping or getting rid of the Matrix 3s. Placing them as @jasonbourne52 recommended helped mitigate the highs. Tube preamp recommendations make sense. I’ve heard the NAD 2200PE sound awesome with them with the right preamp. I’ve always thought the 1600 preamp - although good - was the weakest link. I don’t think I’d get much for the Matrix 3s, and given they were a $4K speaker in the day, I have to believe with the right equipment - changing out for a tube preamp - would be more cost efficient on this system.

@2psyop glad to hear your experience with the Freya+, definitely one I’m considering. 

At the risk of losing any credibility I may have ever had among “serious” audiophiles, I’ve had some fun playing around with two items from Parts Express on this system as proofs of concept on adding in tubes:

- FX Audio Tube-03 Tube Preamp - Lots of stuff on the interwebs about this one, so for under $50 as a proof of concept, why not?

- Dayton Audio HTA20BT - My GF says, “you just love that little amp,” and she’s right! I got it for under $150 for a kitchen system, so again, why not try it out?

Either way, in the world of audio equipment, both seem to illustrate that two wrongs - bright metal dome tweeters and even cheap tube gear with rolled off highs - can and do, in fact, make a right. I prefer both of them to the NAD gear, especially on the highs. I can only imagine how good the 2200PE would sound with a good tube preamp like the Freya+, so I’m still looking.