[saisunil]

Glad to know you are happy with what you have ...
Happiness - we are all seeking it

[SoCalWJS]

Glad it's working well for you Steve!
Now it's time to get into room treatments (then tube rolling, then power conditioning, then other cables, then.........)

[Cheeseboy]

The Christmas Tree has worked very well to tame the first reflection point on the left wall.  I hope I can leave it there all year long. 

Saisunil,

I was in a state of bliss until I was reminded of the room treatment issues.  Who brought that up?

Until they can be adressed I'm going to enjoy what I have today and be very happy.  The giant step up over where I was in a system and where I am today is so great that when people ask me what I am thankful for at Christmas I will tell them.  Dodd Audio, GR Research and DAC.  Most around the table will not get it.  Those that have been close through the journey will breath a sigh of relief that everything has worked better than expected and they won't have to put up with my second guessing, constant questioning and nervous nature around the subject of audio.  I'll simply ask them if they would like a listen for themselves.  I'll share my state of grace!

[Cheeseboy]

Glad it's working well for you Steve!
Now it's time to get into room treatments (then tube rolling, then power conditioning, then other cables, then.........)

My wife said that it may just be the house.  I answered with "Then we should move"...... 

She agreed.

I love that girl!

[roymail]

Other than gain, using the same tube, can one expect similar sonics using the Dodd buffer as compared to the Dodd battery pre?  Thanks and congrats on a beautiful system.

[Cheeseboy]

Roy,

I have never owned the buffer.  I have always needed the gain.  As there are not alot of these out there yet I would defer to someone that has owned the original battery preamp for impressions or contact Gary at Dodd Audio.  Gary was very good about answering questions for me.  I asked alot of stupid ones.

Many here have enjoyed the buffer. 

I have seen many up for sale used.  I even think you can DIY one.

[S Clark]

Other than gain, using the same tube, can one expect similar sonics using the Dodd buffer as compared to the Dodd battery pre?  Thanks and congrats on a beautiful system.

I have the buffer and the original battery preamp.  The buffer has a bit more detail, but the difference is no more than the variation in rolling tubes in the preamp.  I suspect that the key difference is the difference in the tubes that one uses in the buffer vs the tubes one used in the preamp. 
Having said that, I still use the preamp in my main system.  I need the extra gain to drive my LS9s and give them the power they need to show their dynamic abilities.

[SoCalWJS]

My wife said that it may just be the house.  I answered with "Then we should move"...... 

She agreed.

I love that girl!

That sounded good at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced there's probably a hidden motive there......

[roymail]

I have the buffer and the original battery preamp.  The buffer has a bit more detail, but the difference is no more than the variation in rolling tubes in the preamp.  I suspect that the key difference is the difference in the tubes that one uses in the buffer vs the tubes one used in the preamp. 
Having said that, I still use the preamp in my main system.  I need the extra gain to drive my LS9s and give them the power they need to show their dynamic abilities.

Thanks for your post and comments, very helpful.  The 2 volts supplied by my CDP is enough gain for me with 91db sens speakers.

[Cheeseboy]

That sounded good at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced there's probably a hidden motive there......

When ever my lovely wife agrees with me there is usually more there than meets the eye.  She wants a bigger dining room for entertaining.  I want a room I can own for listening. 

We will have to wait and see as we can't sell our house until the end of July.  We took advantage of the tax credit for buying.  The three years are up in July. 

[Cheeseboy]

Thanks for your post and comments, very helpful.  The 2 volts supplied by my CDP is enough gain for me with 91db sens speakers.

Roy,

Tell us about your set up.  What speakers are you running?  I saw your question on most holographic pre amps over in the Tube-o-phile section.  You might get some good responses to that question here as related to the design of your speakers.  There are alot of good spirits here that DIY speakers and might have some good insights for you.