Mike Lindsey Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Well... I just did it and I guess there's no turning back now. The VRD's should be shipping out shortly as well, and I can hardly wait to hear what this combo is going to sound like. I feel like an 8 year old boy on Christmas morning. [] I had a real nice hour conversation with Mark (like he's got nothing better to do with his time) while ordering and he couldn't be any nicer. What a great asset he is to our little community (as is Craig). I'll take some pics when everything comes in and will post my listening impressions afterwards. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 That ought to be a nice sounding rig. Congrats. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Mike, I am using Peach and VRD's and could not be happier with the combo. I used it with both Cornwalls and now Khorns. If I get back into albums I will get a Blueberry and not think twice about it. Mark and Craig stand behing their products and if I ever had a problem I know I can call them. I have posted questions on the BB and both have sent me an email to make sure I received the answers I was looking for. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsman Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Yes I too need to give praise to Mark Deneen. Also an apology for not posting something sooner. I purchased the Baldwin from born2rocku, and with many very good suggestions from fellow members I decided on the Merlin. All I can say is this combo is it for me. My quest for the holy grail is done for awhile. I have been wanting to post something sooner giving praise for Mark and the Merlin. Nice guy with the awesome preamps. I am not sure what the main factor is with the recently upgraded components, but I love my system. This was a major shake-up, going from ss to tubes. Now I am a believer. Now I know what all the hype is with tubes. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 I am including a fantastic JuicyMusic embroidered hat (ball cap) in with your order! Great! There's a good chance I'll be the only person in my neighborhood with one. [] Thanks, guys! I'm real excited about this preamp, and Craig's monoblocks as well. This is the good news. the bad news is I have screwed something up on the 299 while trying to replace the front can. I'm going to have to get a pic and forward it to Craig. This means no tunes until the amps and preamp arrives unless I can figure out what I did wrong. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Congrat's Mike. Your system should now as good as good can be. I strongly believe there is no better system. Now, I've got to practice my spelling, dangit![] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 that should be a ...Stunning combo .....[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviserated Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Mike--- YOU WON! For spelling and typing "BlueBerry Xtreme" absolutely correctly in the title (a feat I rarely see) I am including a fantastic JuicyMusic embroidered hat (ball cap) in with your order! :-) Thanks for the kind comments. md Throwing in some extra tubes would be lots better. By the way, how much do good sounding replacement tubes cost for the BlueBerry Xtreme? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Excellent Mike, You are one lucky guy....[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robster Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Hi Mike, CONGRATS! I have the Blueberry original MKI a refurbed that I bought from Mark and VRD's. Both sound great!! Craig's VRD's are unstoppable. I've had mine for 8 months and I haven't killed them yet,LOL! I did go through two rectifer tubes,the Russian ones. But since I switched to NOS Mullard rectifers,zero problems with tubes. The Russians were cheap at Dougs Tubes. I bought Amperex for the small tubes on my VRD's and quite honestly my ears can't tell the difference from the stock JJ's. Also customer service is AAA++ with Craig and Mark. I've pestered them with dozens of pinhead questions and never once have they called me a pinhead..to my face.. LOL. Enjoy. Cheers, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviserated Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Not bad. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Hi Mike, CONGRATS! I have the Blueberry original MKI a refurbed that I bought from Mark and VRD's. Both sound great!! Craig's VRD's are unstoppable. I've had mine for 8 months and I haven't killed them yet,LOL! I did go through two rectifer tubes,the Russian ones. But since I switched to NOS Mullard rectifers,zero problems with tubes. The Russians were cheap at Dougs Tubes. I bought Amperex for the small tubes on my VRD's and quite honestly my ears can't tell the difference from the stock JJ's. Also customer service is AAA++ with Craig and Mark. I've pestered them with dozens of pinhead questions and never once have they called me a pinhead..to my face.. LOL. Enjoy. Cheers, Robert That's because your a really nice pinhead [] just kidding of course Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robster Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I'd still being using Carver gear if it wasn't for u guys! Lol!! Cheers, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z4! Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 You are going to love your new preamp, Mike, congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Replacement tubes: (1) 12AX7; (2) 12AT7; (1) 6DJ8/6922; (1) 12X4 rectifier. The cost depends on the quality of the 12AX7 and the 6DJ8/6922/7308/E188CC. $35 to $50 for a good tube and if you go creme de la creme, a CCa could cost close to $100 each. There are other less expensive alternatives that do sound very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Welcome to the club!! It's not so exclusive anymore. The word's out! One piece of advice: Listen to the tubes provided by Mark for a good long while before trying anything different. Congrats Mike. You'll love this combo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Congrats Mike! I look forward to hearing your description of the sound. What wood type are you getting? I hope you post pictures too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 Welcome to the club!! It's not so exclusive anymore. The word's out! One piece of advice: Listen to the tubes provided by Mark for a good long while before trying anything different. Congrats Mike. You'll love this combo! Thanks, Gary! That's my plan. I'll go at least 6 months listening to them as they are before trying other tubes. I currently have a nice quad of Telefunken 12AX7's, and a perfect NOS Mullard 5AR4 that I can experiment with later. The VRD's are being shipped with some Tung Sol 6550's I believe. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.records Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Are the Blueberry's fairly easy on tubes? How many hours could someone expect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 Congrats Mike! I look forward to hearing your description of the sound. What wood type are you getting? I hope you post pictures too. Well... the VRD's are maple and look very similar in color to my La Scala's, so I decided to go with the Maple since Mark still had a couple left. To be honest, I'm not a real big fan of walnut. Here are the VRD's I'm getting: Mark said not too many people were keen on the maple but they should be a good fit with the VRD's. He was going to put on the new box today and take a pic and send it to me prior to shipping out tomorrow. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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