Cal Audio Alpha 24/96 upgrade?

If you haven't tried swapping tubes in this unit, i would go that route before spending the money on the 24 / 96 upgrade. Then again, i know others that have done the upgrade and found it WAY better than any tube swap. It's all personal taste and system based. I've got 3 different CAL dac's and they all have different sonic signatures.

If you are hell bent on doing the upgrade, you should probably do it relatively soon. I don't know how much longer CAL will be doing these mods, but i don't see it continuing that far into the future. Sean
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Sean,

What kind of tubes would you recommend to try? I don't know alot about the different ones.

Thanks

Hello Ton1313-
I have done the upgrade AND replaced the stock tubes with others. I have tried NOS Westinghouse, Mullards and Teles. I have decided that my Amperex goldpins sound best. Now to answer your question, in hindsight, I would not have made the investment in the upgrade. Yes, it is an improvement, but the ROI is zero. Given the opportunity, I would sell the CALs and look at a Metronome, Electrocompaniet or Resolution player instead. IMHO, all of these sound better than the CAL.

Camadeco,
Thanks for the input. What kind of differences did you hear over the stock tubes with the others? Where did you get them? and how much do they cost. I think for now, this might be my best approach.

You are also recommending a CD player instead of seperates?
I don't have much experience with the hi-end players.