[Audio Empire]

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:28:14 -0700, WindowShopper wrote
(in article ):

Dear friends,
I have been living on Quad amplification or rather shall pen down my
system so to let you have a better understanding & to reply with ease:

- XLO power cables conencting all electronics
- VDH D102 mkiii connecting source, pre, power
- XLO Ultra6 spk cable (no, i didnt like the biwired sound, hence its
a single length)
- 99pre, 909power, Marantz SA 7001
- B&W 805-S

I have heard DIY tube amps and they sounded quite like anyone would
approve of them, myself alike.

Hence was looking for a Tube pre which at the pretext of giving better
imaging should not just go sterile sounding. I have read of some
options discussed in a thread - ''Preamps under usd2k'' but i could
not find answers w.r.t my preference & system, yet i do have noted two
options from there.

To each his own 'ears' and mine like it lush, rich, encapsulating,
something that brings effortless soudstaging (best within the
individual's budget) ..and also separation, detailed yet softer HF and
faster LF handling. Too much to ask for? ..lets see how close can we
get with all our suggestions working in unison.

Many thanks to stop by and be willing to assist.

My regards
Sid
.

member: GLOBAL AUIDOPHILE GROUP (Active audiophile group for
audiophiles on facebook only)

Hmmm. Tubes can be nice. Very euphonic colorations. Many modern tube amps and
pre-amps sound so much like modern transistor gear, that aside from the
characteristic of soft-clipping (buy an amp large enough to not clip under
your particular listening conditions, and that point becomes moot anyway).
there really isn't any real advantage to buying a modern tube amp or preamp.
Of course if you LIKE the tube sound, then stick with the type of tube
equipment that gives one tube sound. That would be vintage stuff or
specialist gear, much of it from China.

On XLO power cords. Let me ask you a question. Do you honestly believe that
after traveling hundreds of miles through transmission lines, passing on the
way through a myriad of step-down transformers and switching yards, and
finally snaking, perhaps hundreds of feet, through your walls to which are
connected fridges, aircon units, oil heater feed pump motors, televisions,
computers, and modern fluorescent bulbs that the last meter or two between
your wall socket and and your hi-fi component makes even the slightest
difference to the quality of the mains power your components are receiving?
It doesn't. Fancy power cords are a waste of money from a technical
standpoint. They cannot clean-up dirty mains current nor, after all that
distance, would they have the slightest effect on "protecting" the current
being fed your gear from noise, as all line noise is already on the mains as
it comes out of the wall. Also, the power transformers in your equipment are
designed to step-up or step-down 50-60 Hz voltage and any noise riding on the
line simply won't be coupled to the secondary side of the power supplies in
your gear because those frequencies are outside of the pass-band of the power
transformer. IOW, you've already got a pretty good mains filter built-in to
your gear! Save your money when it comes to power cords. The ones that ship
with your components are sufficient to the task.