It might be helpful to detail what your exact chain is and what fixes you've tried. That way its clear what has been tested so you won't get repeat suggestions and might get other ideas to test out.

So the usb cable from the dac is not connected directly into the desktop? It seems like there's a lot of stuff in your chain and there's a lot to rule out in terms of whats causing the issue. Have you tried connecting via usb directly from the desktop into your dac into the amp? If that has no...

How is the RME connected to the desktop (usb, coax, optical)? From the RME its XLR out to the V281?

After much frustration this is what Arthur is doing. He’s asking Violectric to send a non-scratched top cover and will ship that out to me. My unit came with scratches. Was told that they will exchange it for a new unit. After 5 weeks of chasing them I finally get the replacement unit to ship...

For those who bought the V281 reissue. Does your unit have scratches on the top? I bought one and it had scratches on the top. I reached out to Arthur and the unit was replaced (took 5 weeks to get a replacement but that’s a different story). I unbox the replacement unit today and it has the...

Up next Aegis yoga session + tubes talk. Balancing the Aegis while you do yoga

Yup. RCA 6550s are made by Tung-Sol. Yeah. they do sound really good!

Have you by chance heard the Caldera Closed pads on the AC? Curious to hear how they match up. My favourite pad so far for the AC is the Bokeh Suedes.

Every time I see a new build I get the urge to build another Aegis. Like the first time was proof of concept. Like I’m able to build it. The second build would be “now how can I go crazy with it”.

Yeah. It blocks dust from the top but dust still gets in from the sides. Definitely better than open air.

Not sure if they sell them. I think it was swag from a Canjam.

My makeshift dust cover for my diy Aegis

Oh! That's a cool idea. I definitely wouldn't mind one for the DIY Aegis. Dust is definitely not fun to deal with. Especially around tubes.

Caldera Open is magic on the Aegis. Really love the pairing

I feel like if anyone is gonna end up with a modded Super Aegis its gonna be you 🤣. You're halfway there already!

Nice. Good to hear that you don’t have to remove the board. Curious did you notice any sonic differences after swapping the caps? Awesome thanks for the info. Although on the other hand kinda feel if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Since it’s easy to replace then should it fail then replace it...

I was just thinking this. Is it worth proactively replacing? Also how much work would be involved in replacing them? We would pretty much have to fully remove the board right?

If you look at the base of the socket there's a notch where the centering pin would align with. So you would just line that up with the white mark. Alternatively you can count the number on the sockets. Its numbered 1-8. You will see matching 1-8 on the bottom of the tubes. You would match them...

my heart is set on black and white ebony 😍

Use a DAC that has multiple outputs. I've used a Schiit Bifrost 2/64 that has balanced XLR outputs (that goes to my SS Amp) and RCA outputs (that goes to my Aegis). Recently I upgraded to a Schiit Yggy. That has one balanced XLR outputs and 2 RCA outputs. The benefit it that all outputs are...

I used to mix live music. And when I was starting out one of the concepts I was taught was “visualising sound”. So your drawing totally makes sense to me. Funnily enough the idea of visualising sound actually makes a lot of sense

Would be interested in the list too. @Toonartist only makes me buy expensive tubes 🤣. So having budget options is definitely appreciated!

Am gonna need pics of those cups sir!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-aegis-official-thread.972476/post-18073177

I would definitely ask them and see if you could get pictures of the seam so you can decide if that’s something you could live with. That said I’ve bought a B-stock Caldera and can’t tell why it’s B-stock by looking at it. Just looks like natural wood to me. I would say that they have very...