I must admit I made that post after a bottle of wine and a great Dub Spencer and Trance Hill session!

Now that's living in a false world in a sense because it sounds friggin' fabulous through my system as it is and has done through quite a bit of gear changes.

Played a mint copy of New Boots and Panties on vinyl, then went onto a knacked copy of Tubular Bells - just massive levels of noise but I played both sides. I think it's the same copy I used to listen to with my brother when it came out, as I have all his vinyl cos he gave it to me. The actual quality of the recording still made it through the noise but it was crazy putting up with it. I just felt I had to for old times sake:D

Then I went onto YouTube and the sonics went down hill...

I was in listen from 25 feet away mode on an office chair but later from about 15 feet on a new huge sofa and massive footstool arrangement I have put in the listening room. It's nice to be able to enjoy the two different presentations as they are quite different from each other.

Anyway just a glimpse inside my Friday night;)

Reminds me of my ideal room which I worked out recently.
Room much as is, maybe not quite so long although big is good.
Most important - room extended behind me to an office set up behind where I sit.

The 6C4C turned out to be a big surprise. They sound extremely good with a Westinghouse VU71 rectifier. Massive bargain at $50 for the pair.

Another surprise. My DAC is out for some more modifications, so I decided to try the audio output of the Chang Hong A5U projector. The 3.5mm jack to RCA connectors.

The sound is very decent indeed. I think it is better than the Xiang Sheng back up DAC I own.

Yeah. The Chang Hong is obviously better!

The reason it is back with Alan is I started checking real world filament voltages and reading up on the Rod Coleman filament regulator. It was 25% out on some valves. Possibly more on ones I didn't check.

It turns out there are trim pots on the Rod boards you are supposed to adjust to get the filament voltage bang on. But the way they are positioned inside the DAC means you can't get at them.

So Alan is going to mount some sort of external pot control for each regulator, plus test points I can get at with my multimeter.

That way you get in the ball park zone using the 6 position filament voltage switch, then zone in precisely with the multimeter.

I believe this is about the best way possible to get the filaments running correctly and it will certainly be better than any commercial Lampizator at any price WRT to this.

I actually know exactly how to do this but I daren't do it. I just don't have the fiddly bit skills and experience to make it happen without messing it up.

Also maybe the Firebottler will put the JLSounds galvanic USB in this time. Depends how he feels about it I guess. I'm just curious to try that, though, rather than any real need.

I want the change because I have some expensive valves that I want running optimally.

A 5C3S rectifier has arrived. £13.99.

I can now go fully Soviet block: 6N6P->5C3S->6C4C.

Must listen to Back in the USSR. Loud.

When I can:D.

New Michell record clamp meant I listened to a lot of vinyl last night. I lost my old one in the house move.

This thing is essential on a Michell and ensures the record is pressed flat onto the platter which is slightly concave by design.

I have to say some of my best pressings were sounding fabulous. I hadn't really been playing anything without the clamp as the records just slide around and don't lie flat on the platter. Not good for SQ.

I expect the old one will turn up which will annoy me, but that one was all black and this one matches my black and gold deck better.

DAC still with Alan. I think I have overtaxed his brain a bit with the USB venture!

But we are also waiting for another Toroidy.

I'm going to go wooden floor in the studio much like what you see in this flower shot from the main house.

I found out who did that flooring from the builders. Whoever fitted it was amazing.

Then get a carpentry firm in for some bespoke stuff to hold the hi-fi low level and maybe custom diffusers behind the speakers.

Might take a while, but I can't stand the pink floor in the studio!

Got some good stuff back from Alan.

Filament voltage adjustment appears to work very well indeed. There are external pots you use to adjust the Rod Coleman filament regulators. I had the idea of doing this when I RTFM of the Coleman boards.

Degree of control seems excellent. Stability seems excellent.

This DAC now truly hosts all sorts of triodes and runs them to their exact filament specs.

System sounding glorious last night. Living with a Xiang Sheng is fine, until something proper enters the room;)

Visseaux TMBF1.

Parlez vous Francais?

TBH can't run it at the moment. Trying to slowly work it out with Alan but I am very busy at the moment.

Alan's latest DAC mods involved my requirement for filament voltage control and he has just done a great job. Filament voltage control has lifted the DAC's performance by enabling them to be run very close to published specifications, if not bang on.

If you happen to be an engineer by trade you'll know it'll never be exact but honestly this DAC is now sounding absolutely un-be-fucking-leavable.
Currently Marconi/Osram PX25 is just sounding absolutely crazy. I just cannot express it in words.

Sure it's a personal thing as we all know but this is beyond that. This combined with recent speaker mods is right up there subjectively.

How do I express that? Worthy of a Munich exposure. And it would be in the top 15% of the rooms no question. And in some parameters it's better than anything I have ever heard.

Rest assured English cottage hi-fi builders are fantastic. Support them, lest they fuck up. Then find out where they went wrong and tell them. It's a two way thang:)