TU-8900 upgrade

The end result is different from my expectations!

In the 8900 I have replaced the OPTs and the caps.  Also the small signal tubes are now Amperex ECC82/12AU7s.  WOW.

The 8900 with Electro-Harmonix 2A3 EH Gold tubes is just gorgeous and is now in my main system, the 8600 in the 2nd system!  The soundstage is amazing, playing the CBSO Mahler 2 it stretches to a foot outside the speakers on both sides, I had never before had this effect in my untreated room.  There is the ability to see into the performance and the instrumental timbres are so clear and seductive.

Choral works, such as the Rachmaninov All Night Vigil, also solo and chamber works are superb.

To be absolutely critical orchestral tuttis are ever so slightly congested at 98dB but I can live with that since the sound is still wonderful, and the quiet, ethereal passages have totally seduced me.  

Bottom line, the TU-8900, with Lundahls and good caps plus Amperex 12AU7s is a superb amplifier (Stereophile class A- perhaps, not quite Kondo Audio Note, but 2% of the price).  I have a pair of RCA Black Plate 2A3s on order; I found an NOS pair on eBay (fingers crossed, they are coming from India).

The news on the DMP A8 is similarly good, it arrived in perfect condition in bomb proof packaging.  It was fairly easy to configure, I did this in my main system, running straight into the 8900, leaving it in its default filtering mode.  Tonally it is excellent, just lacking a hair of the resolution of the (12 x as expensive) Esoteric K-01XD SE.

The 2nd system is now rather good - DMP A8 -> Upgraded TU-8600 -> Harbeth P3ESRs.  I now must be careful to not be distracted by the music while using my knives in the kitchen!

I did a test of the P3ESRs, I moved them over to my main system and was very surprised at how the sound from approx. $2k speakers compared with that from the $37,.5k Rockports!  The lowest base was not there and they were not quite as transparent, but I was amazed especially at the midrange. I played my "emotion test piece", the third movement of the Op. 132 and was transfixed just as I am with the large speakers.

I m not sure why I had not done this earlier (duh!)

I am now undertaking a rework of the 2nd system.

I have ordered the Lundahl kit from the UK, let's hope it gets through import without crazy tariffs.  Also a pair of Jupiter Copper/Beeswax caps.

I am going to order the Eversolo DMP A8, it has excellent reviews, there are positive comments on this forum, and it is small enough to fit in the bookcase that acts a a stand for the 2nd system.

No idea about the transformer upgrade, but past that the cheapest/easiest thing to do would be to add a linear power supply (LHY, SBooster, Teddy Pardo) to the Node that will yield a nice performance bump.  I assume you’re using the DAC in the Node, so that’d be another obvious area for a significant upgrade.  If you were to add the LPS and get a good DAC I think you’d be at a much higher level.  If you really wanna up your game pair one of the above power supplies with an Innuos Pulse Mini and a good DAC — not cheap but would be another level of improvement and give you a USB output.  And yes, I think your P3ESRs would reward you for feeding them a much better signal.  Just some thoughts FWIW, and best of luck. 

The P3ESR is much more than adequate to hear ANY improvements in the upstream components.  It is surprising how well all of these speakers based on the BBC LS3/5A speakers sound and how much they appreciate good upstream components.  I've heard, and liked, a number of Elekit amps.  However, if you do push the P3ESR hard with such low powered amplification, you might run out of steam (the first sign would be compression -- the music stops getting louder and sounds more "blah"-- and the sound becoming more muddy.  I am someone who believes most people grossly overestimate the amount of power they "need," but these speaker do need more power than most speakers; they are not as easy for tube amps to drive as some other BBC LS3/5A variants that have a 15 ohm impedance.

I don't know about the upgrade options.  You should talk to Victor Kong, the North American importer.  He is usually quite frank in his recommendations.