No LP listening today unfortunately, While everything is dead silent with the digital, as soon as I turn on the F-117, a loud hum surfaces in the system. I disconnected and reconnected the cables from the HRX to the F-117 and from the F-117 to the Peak but to no avail. I changed the cable out from the F-117 to the Peak, no impact. I verified the ground cable from the HRX to the F-117 was not loose but no change. I am not sure what is causing the hum. The F-117 runs off its battery so it is not introducing any ground loop. Last weekend through the Stealth I didn't have any problems. I even tried using input 1 or 2 on the Peak for the F-117 but still nothing changed.
Oh well, with the short timeframe, I am going to go ahead and just listen using the PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport and the corresponding Perfect Wave DAC now. I have swapped out tubes from the 1950s Sylvania Chrome Dome to a Pope 6SN7.
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/Pope-6SN7GT_p_105.html
Since I also have a AES DJH AE-3 purchased from Upscale Audio back in 2001, I had purchased a pair of these several years ago for this preamp. This tube matches beautifully with this preamp. Unfortunately you can no longer purchase this tube. I thought I would go ahead and give it try anyway as it is a wonderful tube.
The Peak does sound fantastic with the Pope. I have been listening to "The Very Best of Chicago, Only The Beginning" and everything I heard the other evening is just several notches higher. The horns extension and unity are amazing. I really don't recall this level of extension from this recording. The soundstage has a very large width to it. You can really differentiate the vocals at the front of the stage. The percussion is very tight and at the back of the stage where they should be. I would agree with others who have commented that this tube is extremely musical rather than analytical. While the detail is there, it just envelops you with the music. I think the term the comments have suggested the Pope is extremely 3 dimensional.
As I think about the characteristics of the Pope, you almost forget that it is the Peak that brings out all these attributes of this tube. The Peak basically allows you to listen without adding anything to the music itself; While this may sound easy, it is not that easy to do in practice, especially at the Peak's price point. The Peak definitely gets a thumbs up in this category.
Overall, the sonics of the Peak are excellent. I won't comment on the cosmetics or the value as those are individual preferences.