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- Mar 13, 2007
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I didnt notice any difference running with a 3 prong plug. Perhaps in Japan the plug standard is different?
Grado Rs1e are in the house so I am doing a lot more headphone listening. The Senns just didnt suit me. I will have a Little Dot I+, a highly regarded budget tube hybrid esp. for Grados, in for review and comparison tomorrow.
Lucid, if you love the tube sound, id suggest grabbing some NOS tubes as well... to me, the PSVane KT88 setup sounds like a good SS amp with an extra drop of honey. That is to say they colored the sound less than other tubes I tried.
I doubt youll find an NOS tube with a return policy, youd probably have to sell privately. Theyre definitely worth the risk though IME.
PSVane Premium MKII are a good bet for high-end new production tubes. There is also a company out of Ukraine I believe, cant remember the name, making ultra high end new production tubes.
Power tube mode is totally up to you. My speakers are low sensitivity so kt88s in pentode/4ohm mode sound perfect. If I were running bookshelves I'd experiment with UL and triode. For highly sensitive speakers like horns I bet triode would sound great.
Headphone wise I will be able to compare pentode and triode output tonight on my Grado RS1e. The LD I+ gave the 8200 in triode an incredible run for the money, I was actually shocked at the results. Ill post more details later.
I guess the LD I+ has a good synergy with your Grado's. With Alpha Dogs and modded T50RP's, my LD I+ is not even in the same ballpark. My TU-8200DX has a huge advantage in detail, soundstage, and head room ( I have to almost max the volume on the LD I+ to equal 12 o' clock on my TU-8200DX in UL mode). I upgraded the LD I+ opamp to a Muse02 (big improvement over stock) and tried a few well regarded NOS tubes (again a large improvement over stock).
My LD I+ will be up for sale when I get home next week if anyone is interested...