To Lapierre: Thanks! Actually the tubes are for the Jolida cd player. I am currently using 1960 vintage Mullard 12ax7 grey short plates (blackburn plant), they are my goto tube for most of the music. But I do have some Svetlana 12ax7 about the same vintage that I do prefer on some jazz stuff I listen to.

As far as homework - some, but really more trial and error buying and selling a lot of equipment before finding a combo I was really happy with.

sokar April 10, 2009 03:53

To Zephyr:

Thanks for the compliment. Thanks for the info on the interconnects and pre-amps. I picked up the cobras only because I found 2 pr of them for a steal, but I have thought about trying others. I will do some research with regards to the Classe pre-amp's, I just fell in love with the ML amp and wanted try one of their pre's.

sokar April 10, 2009 03:48

Well done!!

Looks like you did your homework.

What mullard tubes did you use in the preamp?

lapierre April 10, 2009 02:43

Your room is very nice looking and your system is well done. If you have a chance, checkout Audioquest Mont Blanc speaker cables (the best price/value combo in the AQ line IMHO) and Audioquest Columbia or Niagara interconnects. Other options include Tara The One and 0.8. I always liked the Infinity Sigma and Epsilon speaker offerings in years past; I'm sure this system must convey music in a very satisfying manner. You've done a great job squeezing value and great sound out of your budget. For a pre-amp, the 380s is a great contender; depending upon what sound you are after you may want to pickup a Classe DR-5 or DR-6 pre-amp or a later-model from Classe (CP-500). Enjoy!

zephyr24069 April 09, 2009 22:40