consonance 2.0 sacd: EC99 upgrade from 6H30.


When I contacted Audiolon about the Auricap upgrade in a new unit, they also mentioned a tube upgrade from the standard (6H30?) to the jj Tesla EC99. Any one out there with this upgrade, or had the oppur. to compare? I thought the 6H30 'supertube' was a top of the line tube.
pkc_b2
I had the upgrade done to my 1.0 consonance player. It did give the player a more musical sound. I was, and am, very glad I had it done. The sound has definitely improved.
I got my SACD 2.0 back a couple weeks ago from the service center that did the upgrade. I let it break-in the recommended 100 + hours.

The 6H30 tube had an obvious "tube" sound, the highs were slightly rolled off, very deep base was down, and the mid-base had a pronounced bump. The solid state outputs had a distant sound, but were more linear.

After the upgrade, the differences between the solid state and tube outputs are minimal. The major tube coloraion of the 6H30 is gone and the solid state outputs have taken on a new life. The dynamics are better and it sounds much more natural, from both outputs.

At $350, it's an expensive upgrade to a player that is expensive to begin with. At the discounted price, it is a worthwhile upgrade. It took two weeks at the service center, which is a far cry from the 2 - 3 days I was quoted.