Thanks for your response and it is good to hear that you like your Mac and you are happy with it.
It was recommended for me to change M3B tubes every two year or so, and that tells that M3B pushes harder than most other tube preamps.
I wonder how many would purchase $5K preamp, knowing that they have to change the set of tubes ($300+) every two years. With light listening, it may be 3~4 years, but still I think it is more often than most other tube preamps.
For my system, I don't hear any tube hiss from M3B. I put the normal listening volume level at 12 ~ 1 o'clock. That is the same level with Plinius M16P. On PrimaLuna it has to be 2 ~ 3 o'clock. No wonder PrimalLuna preamp tubes last much longer than AI Modulus series preamp. Anyway, I prefer the sound from M3B much better than PrimaLuna.
If I own M3B long enough to realize that the tubes need to be changed every 2 years, then I might feel different, but as of now, I am happy with the sound of M3B, and I don't mind to change the volume manually.
It was recommended for me to change M3B tubes every two year or so, and that tells that M3B pushes harder than most other tube preamps.
I wonder how many would purchase $5K preamp, knowing that they have to change the set of tubes ($300+) every two years. With light listening, it may be 3~4 years, but still I think it is more often than most other tube preamps.
For my system, I don't hear any tube hiss from M3B. I put the normal listening volume level at 12 ~ 1 o'clock. That is the same level with Plinius M16P. On PrimaLuna it has to be 2 ~ 3 o'clock. No wonder PrimalLuna preamp tubes last much longer than AI Modulus series preamp. Anyway, I prefer the sound from M3B much better than PrimaLuna.
If I own M3B long enough to realize that the tubes need to be changed every 2 years, then I might feel different, but as of now, I am happy with the sound of M3B, and I don't mind to change the volume manually.