gottajam

Hey etc6849. Not here to question your choices or toy with you. Did you place the Palladiums that close together using the scientific research process that you used to gather your audio equipment? Or did you place them that way out of a trial and error process and found that they sound better closer together rather than further apart? I have a pair of P38s that are pretty close together but only because of space limitations. In a couple months we are changing up our living room and will be moving the whole stereo and subsequently, the speakers will have more area that I can have a little leeway as far as being able to move them further apart.

The pics with the LSs in the desert looks like it could be a potential setting for a Pink Floyd video.

I do not have any experience with the first amp you mentioned, but I did recently buy my first tube gear. I bought a used Primaluna Dialogue Two. It is not the Premium though. Only limited listening so far. I like the ability to be able to switch from ultra linear to triode mode on the fly. However, because this is not the Premium, this function can only be accomplished on the remote. It always reverts back to the default ultralinear mode when you shut it off. So if you find that you prefer the triode mode, you have to switch it over each time you turn the amp on. It makes a low thunk when you do this. Apparently the newer models have a physical switch on the side that stays in whichever mode you last left it in. I wish mine was like this. The remote does not have an on / off button so this has to be performed at the amp. There is not a dedicated subwoofer out tap so if you want to use a sub you have to use the speaker level method. Other than these initial observations, I really like it. It is VERY sturdy and heavy. It is well built the connectors on the back are of good quality. I like the flexibility of being able to tube roll, which I am just experiencing for the first time. I would easily recommend a Dialogue Premium. Good luck with the hunt. That is half the fun. I would not limit your search to just those two brands though. There are many entry level tube integrated amps that have the potential to be a great start to tube audio.

You should use a Shunyata power cord!

Well the brown truck brought my new toy to the house. First impression, this thing is much heavier than I expected. VERY solidly built. The connectors on the back are nice, high quality connectors (WBT, I think). I have to admit that I am a little intimidated and do not want to screw anything up. I have yet to do any actual "critical" listening. So far I have installed it into the system hooked it all up and turned it on to just make sure that it all works. I already have ordered a set of EL34s to check out when I am ready to "roll". I ordered Mullard EL34s from Upscale Audio who, from what I understand, does a 72 hour burn in on tubes and tries to match them per the tube specs as tested in their facility. This is going to be a fun project! I will post some pics when I tidy up the installation up a bit.

Geese.

Hunnit dollas!

Schu, that's absurd and probably insulting to the seller. I offer $100!

I like bacon. Me

I understand that even between similar tube types, there are even differences there. Such as an EL34 from one manufacturer sounds different than EL34s from another manufacturer. As mentioned, this is just a backup stereo so I have loads of time to play, I mean research, different tube types. Looking forward to it. Heck, who knows, I might end up with some cool ARC tube separates!

Over the past couple years I have been becoming interested in tube gear. I have never owned tube gear but am curious about it. So I have been lurking several places trying to get ideas about what I might find more desirable between the different types (push-pull / triode / etc). Unfortunately I do not know squat about any of it and do not know anybody that has any tube gear. Well it has been gnawing at me for quite a while now. I had a couple ideas in mind though. I want to try an integrated so I do not get too deep into it and find that I do not like tube stuff. I was thinking I might try something from this list: Audio Research Cary Primaluna Rogue Well I broke down and bought a used Primaluna Dialogue 2 off A-gon. I has KT88 installed. Part of my curiosity involved being able to tube roll. So I am going to check out the Primaluna as is for a while. Later I am sure I will try out some other tubes. I seem to see the EL34s mentioned quite a bit for their sonic warmth and midrange. This will be paired with Klipsch P17B and a CD player. This is not my main stereo and will be a very leisurely learning experience.

For some reason it was upside down for me

Brother In Law helped rebuild my deck on back of house and in a moment of weakness, I gave a very nice Colt Gold Cup National Match. What a firkin mistake. He has zero concept of it's status and treats it... well not like I would treat it.

I hope you are able to find a pair Scrappy. They are great little speakers.

I know this is blasphemy but I have a graphic equalizer in my system. I snicker a little when this subject comes up because there seems to always be two groups. One group says that tone controls are not to be used. This strikes me as funny that some folks think that ALL music media falls into one category that needs no sonic playback adjustment. I disagree. I have an old SAE equalizer to make minor adjustments to the CDs that need it. BTW... yes the speakers are too close together but that is the only way I am able to place them in this room for now.

Congrats on the ARC pre amp A1UC. If / when I ever upgrade my components, I would like to try out ARC and Mac

It has been doing the same to me for a couple weeks now. The first time it showed the Banned screen it shocked me. I have never been banned from a site before and didn't think I had done anything to piss anybody off. Just did it again a few minutes ago. Mac with Safari 10.0.1

Got the Rush 40th Anniversary box set and Pink Floyd MFSL gold disc (new copy).

Cool pics, and a nice looking area.

Those are some good ones Weber. For some reason the one about what's bad for your teeth struck me as particularly funny.

I remember seeing it mentioned that B&W 800 series are used as monitors at Abby Road Studio. B&W likes to name drop that every chance they get. It seems odd to me that studios do not use the absolute best sounding speakers possible as that is their main product is sound.

Wow, that is a great deal. I am glad that I do not live near you. I would be sleeping in the dog house over these. I miss my old 5.5s. GLWS!

A1UC, have you noticed any improvement / difference with the P10 or P5? I have been eyeing those for a while, but am leery of any lack of actual / perceived improvement at that price.

Thinking about contacting him and asking if he might offer maybe $200 - $300 for my P-38s. Seems legit!

Having recently bought a pair of P38s and a Parasound A21 power amp and a Parasound JC-2BP (and some other cool stuff), I can heartily recommend Parasound. They have an integrated that delivers 160 wpc. The A21puts out 250 at 8 ohms (400 at 4 ohms). If I am not mistaken the P39s operate at 4 ohms as do my P38s. It all sounds great. It seems that in order to get more than approximately 250 wpc (at 8 ohms), you would have to open your wallet quite a bit. The Parasound integrated has some great reviews and looks to be equipped with a pretty nice array of the usual accouterments of the digital age. What color P39s did you get? Looking forward to seeing some pics.