Thanks for that info. The we396A is the wrong way? Huh! For my understanding and what i have read, these should be the "the best"?! Please dont tell me i have to spend way more then WE396A money... please...
My "problem" with stock tube is, when i go from ss to tube, with the LCD-X i immediately can hear what is lost in the treble and there is lost quite a bit. I like tubes for what they do. I dont care if they change the sounds character. I even like it when they are warmer/fuller, thats what they should do. With stock tubes i immediately notice quite a big change in soundstage for example, which i really like. I like what they do to the sound in terms of soundcharacter. The problem here is, when i use tubes on the iCAN by switching from ss to tube/tube+ while listening to a song, i then quite fast go back to ss, since the sound is a lot more detailed in this mode. I want to use tubes, but compared to ss, i very often just cant. So my problem with stock tubes is what is lost in the treble/details. Feels like going from a really good recording to a bad recording, by only going from ss to tube/tube++, yet it is the same recording. I dont know if one can understand what i am trying to describe here. Quality is lost, thats the point.
If i can get the quality ss provides without losing anything in terms of details by changing the stock tubes, i will void warranty and roll some tubes. I love tubes. I hate what is lost with stock tubes compare to ss.
So if anyone can tell me what tubes exactly i should use to get what i want (tuby sound without losing details and resolution compared to ss), i will do it (probably).
In the end, the result should be "a different sound", not "worse in quality". Is this even possible without spending to much money on tubes? With stock tubes i get a feeling on missing something and thats not what i like to experience when activating tubes on the iCAN.
By the way, its the same on the iDSD. By going tube/tube+ mode on the iDSD (with iCAN in solid state), i also have this: "i lose to much" feeling. Yet it is only by a very small bit less of a lose, like it is on the iCAN, but that could have a number of reasons. The iCAN could smoothe things out, as i could image. Could because of the "different" tubes in the iDSD. But the difference comparing iDSD@ss with iCAN@tube to iDSD@tube with iCAN@ss is very small.
In both settings, yet you can clearly hear what is added by the tubes, you can also hear what is lost. Therefore in most of the time i use both iCAN and iDSD in solid state, which is kind of sad to me, since i generally like the character of tubes.
When i go tube on both, the iCAN and the iDSD, things seems to just add up. I get a really really tuby sound, it like it very much, but at the same time, the downside is adding up aswell.
My plan is, finding a tube and at first only "test" or repleace them in the iCAN and if i like it, may be going for the same pair on the iDSD. (May be testing a different pair of tubes in the iDSD later. Would be cool to have different tubes, different charakters in iDSDs or iCANs tubes.)
At this point i only can imagine by reading threads like this, what tubes i should go for (btw i have flyn over the hole thread and looked for post with this kind of matter already). There are ppl who have experience in rolling tubes in the iCAN. But i am not sure if it is even always a sacrifice compared to ss. Spending 300€ for a pair, voiding warranty and then still dont getting that solid state kind of quality, is something that bothers me.
