New Preamp arrived....

Thanks. It’s a brand new unit so everything is doing it’s thing. I’m hopeful that the sound will warm up and fill in so to speak.

also to confirm, the sheet included with it noted that it does invert phase so I swapped the - and + of both speakers. I don’t hear a difference but from what I read that’s what one should do.

i guess I’m surprised that they sound more alike than different.

@noromance thanks. I figured things will change but I guess my expectations were too high as to where they’d start from. Going from a $50 passive to tube it seemed to me o should be starting in a better position and improving from there.

I’ve only 4-5 hours on it so I’ll keep going. NOS tubes will be here Monday. Then I’ll have to decide on whether to stick it out with the JJ’s and see how they evolve or go right to the RCA’s. 

My buyer’s remorse (which I get if I buy anything for myself at all) is huge right now.

Thats @tooblue 

I left it on all night so it will get double sigit hours today and all through the night. I will also wait on rolling the new tubes.

@yogiboy 

I'd love to know your thoughts on it and what tubes you are using.

@sebrof  hahaha I do clench very hard unfortunately. I’m strung right like Cameron from Ferris Bueller.

Thanks I feel like it’s filling in nicely. I got a couple of hours to listen yesterday and the sound is warmer and punchier. Today I’m getting kinda of a “halo” around vocals that are tweeter heavy.

So the units been on for over 200 hours now usually processing some sounds for ~12 hours a day.
I do notice the bass and midbass improvements as well as staging. Detail is very enhanced. The sound is very clean!

i have not swapped out tubes or put the Schiit back in but rolling around in my noggin’ is the feeling my speakers are limiting the changes I hear. And I suspect that this is more true in the mid bass

some tracks have hilariously wide channel
separation and great detail.  

I eliminated the toe in on the speakers and moved them back 6” closer to the front wall (now at 12”).

While I like the improvements I’m looking for more warmth and I know my room is an issue but am starting to feel my speakers just aren’t going to do what I want. When I ran them before with a Sansui it had a +10db boost at 50hz (Loudness) which really
brought a lot to the sound.

I spent another hour moving speakers around last night after my last post. I could change the sound some and even got punchier bass where they sit now. Having had zero money to spend I’ve spent a bunch of time playing with toe and front wall distance (it’s free!). I am liking where sound is now more than before.

ive looked into non permanent treatments but I don’t know where to start and there’s no “start with this” advice I could find. 
This is what I am working with. The red boxes are the speakers. The distance from the listener’s right speaker to the corner is 13’ or so.

As linked in a previous post I’m running Focal 807v which I think until recently was the best part of the system. I’ve not made a decision on what I want to upgrade them to as of yet, possibly:
Dynaudio Special 40
Holt Hill Cionnsaile Monitor
Canton Reference 9.2 DC
Verdant Bambusa MG1
(Used) JA Pulsars

Its been remarked to keep the Focals and run subs but I feel like that’d be a temporary solution and I doubt I’d ever get them to blend it’d drive me bonkers.

im happy with what the Quicksilver is doing. The detail and clarity is bonkers. I had hoped it would also warm up the sound but I think the speakers might be hindering that.

@twoleftears  100% agreed and an exciting thing as well. I have a set of NOS RCA black plates here and a set of Phillips 7062 on the way.  Mullards will be my next set. This is my first piece of tube gear so it’ll be fun to roll tubes.

@verdantaudio I’ll check out his site and investigate that kit. I’ve had this issue all along and the speakers and room are the only constants.

So here’s a thing. I was cleaning house while streaming an album. It sounded thin and kind of sterile. I decided to throw the same album on (LP) and it was anything but.

Before, streaming music was un-dynamic and just very ho-hum. Now it’s thinner and a little more dynamic with emphasis on the upper mids and highs. My vinyl setup is so much better! Ballsy sound for the most part. Would this indicate the active preamp is exposing the DAC (Topping D30) to be thin? 
Digital: AppleMusic via ATV4K -> optical -> Topping D30 -> 1/2 meter Evergreen RCA to preamp.

Analog: Pro-Ject DC + 2M Blue -> LC-1 -> Lounge LCR III -> Monster RCA to preamp

Just a thought as they’ve never sounded to finally different.

Thanks @atmasphere   it was never an issue but now it is. Bummer. As for bass, yeahm the short wall is all windows and I'd rather not have people walking by looking at the back end.

@lalitk  The AppleTV/Topping is mostly for movies and AppleMusic which I use to hear new sounds and decide if its worth buying on vinyl. The only reason why I would reference it was that with the Schiit it was only somewhat less dynamic but overall pretty similar to my analog sound. Now they are pretty different which I did not expect. 

At this point with limited funds I'm not looking to drop any more on the digital end. I still want to upgrade speakers, turntable, cart and phono preamp. Spending $200 on a power supply for a $120 device seems counterintuitive to me but maybe I'm ignorant.

So tonight I had nothing to do and no where to go so I rolled in the RCA’s. Too early to say much but they do not seem have the mid-forwardness of the JJ’s. Bass seems maybe better. Me likey.

I have some Philips 7062’s coming too which should be fun. I’ll give those a couple hundred hours and then try the Philips out.My first time tube rolling and it’s fun. I get the obsession for sure.

I’ve seen Brimar 13d9’s mentioned so I’ll look for those. Anything under $50 a pair I’ll take a chance on. 

@yogiboy   are these the tubes you’re referring to?

https://www.vivatubes.com/tests-nos-matched-pair-ge-usa-12at7-ecc81-grey-plate-get-vacuum-tubes-3/?g...

@yogiboy  ok cool.
im going to order a set.

Several pairs of tubes have been rolled in and out. All good in their own way. RCA black plates, Amperex 7062 and Brimar 13D9’s.

Currently have Brimar 13D9’s in. A little
noisey but nice sound. These and the Amperex are the faves so far. 
The Quicksilver has done everything I’d want it to do. I feel my speakers are working against me so those will be the next to change.

I’m debating going tubes with a Quicksilver phono stage + SUT. Who knows.