Broader soundstage, you say!? That pricked my ears right up; sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. And they're a fraction of the cost of the gold pin 6922 I was going to order. (You're talking about these guys, right?) I saw you said you didn't get the gold-pinned versions, but is there a...

Hey ScubaMan2017 - Yes, I'll definitely be upgrading my DAC, to either a Topping D30 or the ubiquitous Modi 3, as you mentioned. I really like foobar too!. Been using it for 12 or 13 years. I wrote several of my own scripts for file renaming and directory generation with various schema (based...

That is indeed how I have it set up. (For the sake of explicitness, I'll mention that the cheap-o DAC is my sole means of utilizing USB audio, as sound files are my only music source. So regrettably the USB DAC has to be somewhere in the chain.) Hey, thank you for both of your...

Thanks, everyone, for the thoughtful replies. I'll try to address some of your remarks with respect to my original question (which essentially was, "Can I widen the soundstage with affordable tubes?"). I love the soundstage the HD600 is capable of, and the SONY STR-DG500 I referred to hits it...

Thanks for the reply. So in your experience, the 6CG7 increase the width & depth of the soundstage, but lend a brighter coloring to the sound signature? Any particular brand you recommend? The Electro-Harmonix are a little less per pair than the gold JJ 6922 on Amazon. Still hunting for as much...

Greetings, everyone. I'm hoping you experienced Val users can provide some insight into my dilemma. I'm currently in the 15 day audition period of the Valhalla with my HD 600, both bone stock, with ~50 hours cumulative load time on the Valhalla. I own a Sony STR-DG500 which, to my genuine...