Wyetech Jade and TRL Dude

Thanks for the responses and the offer for audition (i am in Wash DC area). I ordered the TRL, although with no firm conviction that one is better than the other (i considered the used jade that is listed but it was gone by the time i inquiried). There do not think that there is a bad choice here -- we shall see.

Agear, i recently got some NOS Sylvania 6sn7 Wgt for my amps (description here about 1/3 way down http://www.audiotubes.com/6sn7.htm). They are a military tube i think. Just tremendous dynamics and nice base. FWIIW. My dealer likes the RCAs and i have some of them as well; find the sylvania's a little sweeter, but all is a matter of taste.

gary

That's kool. I used to own the AI L1. Very nice little linestage. I liquidated my previous system and thus the L1 went away. The "just thereness" is a good thing to shoot for IMO as well. The Dude does that (I think) and more in other ways that are hard to describe.

At the end of the day, its about system synergy. If you need tubes in the preamp, so be it. If not, so be it. I know TRL had at one time made a battery powered SS pre-amp which I have not heard.

The hard part about this game is that you need to be able to A+B things in your own rig. I know in Minneapolis there used to be a hi end store that would let you take things home! How ideal and how far we have come from that era of real community. The internet age has its drawbacks....

Gary, keep us posted on your journey.

Agear

Where can a Dude be auditioned in Charlotte? That's where I am and I've been looking at them...

I have been lucky that a local dealer i have bought things from has let me demo most things in my home, from cables to preamps and amps. a couple of weeks ago i home-demoed a pre-amp he built from all vintage parts old using western electric 311 tubes. unreal, but also real expensive. but it is a pleasure to have a place where you can hear that kind of stuff and someone you can rely on

Gary, I missed your post above. Congrats on purchasing the Dude. I don't think you will be disappointed. It is hard to know if it is better than the Jade in an absolute sense. If the Dude does not float your boat, you can always snag a Jade in the future. I will have to check out the Sylvanias. I tried the Raytheons initially and they did not do it for me. It is conceivable I did not have the optimal Raytheon as they come in different flavors. There is an "organ grade" tube that is supposedly optimal. All that being said, it is better to buy from a reputable tube dealer. I tried buying a few Raytheons on Ebay and regretted it. I know the Weitzels would be interested your tube rolling experiences. You should mention this to them.