When I was using the stock utopia single ended cable, I really enjoyed the Wa22 utopia combo.
upon changing to grand line lavricables, the utopia sounds a little brighter, and the soundstage seems a wee bit smaller. I think this could be due to the mids and highs being brought to a more forward presentation. Everything sounds a lot clearer now, especially voices. There is a little loss of bass slam. The background noise and "blackness" is improved over the stock cable.
I actually quite like the lavricable and am hoping they will sound better after some burn in. Would some tube changes bring back the soundstage and bass slam?
I've read through all 50 pages of this thread. I have a general idea of the usual tubes ppl have recommended.
Brimar 5Z4GY
Mullard 6080
Tungsol/Chatham 5998
Ecc35
Rca 6sn7
Of the above the rca seem the easiest to acquire and also the cheapest. Question here would be given their relatively low price, would they do the other more expensive tubes justice?
I can't easily acquire tubes from where I'm at, so my only options are ebay, wooaudio, some online retailers. Unfortunately I also don't have much of the luxury of time, so I would like to get the "best sound in the shortest possible time".
I'm tempted to just take the easy way out, and to just pay the premium, and get the recommended tube options on the Wa22 webpage..
I'm curious why Western Electric tubes are so expensive?