All I can say to everyone here is THANKS
! Kudos especially to Ted, George, Phil, and Rydenfan - your enthusiasm is contagious. I'm sure there are others on this thread that I owe thanks to, but these guys are the ones I can recall at the moment as experimenting the most and generously sharing their findings/opinions.
I have been following this thread for awhile and have been clandestinely purchasing the EML, octal adapters, and Tung Sol round plates (I needed to be clandestine/quick before ya'll bought everything up
). The last parts were the octal adapters and they arrived yesterday. This combo has it ALL - tone, presence, sound stage, and detail - in SPADES! This "holy grail" transporter tube combo has really pushed my system to another level - it has never sounded so musical ("live" is the best way to describe it) and engaging. For anyone balking at the price, forget about it and JUST DO IT (really, what is $800 - current economy notwithstanding - in tubes and adapters compared to what you have in the modded transporter and possibly your spare tubes and/or cables?).
FWIW, I don't have the "full monty" Modwright transporter - I had my transporter modded a little over a year ago and used the stock tubes up until a few months ago when I got some RCA clear tops based on the pre-EML posts in this thread. The clear tops were an improvement and the EML was a huge leap forward, but the octal adapters and Tung Sol round plates pushed it way over the top. I also don't have any tubes in the rest of my system, which consists of a PS Audio GCC integrated amp, Duevel Bella Luna Diamante omni-directional speakers, and some other sources (yes, it is difficult to confess on a modwright transporter thread
, but I have a Rega P9/Dynavector XX-2/PS Audio GCPH vinyl rig too).
Again, I sincerely appreciate the "research" and "boundary pushing" by everyone here - you guys made it
simple by being so willing to share your experiments, experiences, and opinions. I also do not consider myself a "tube roller" or system tweaker, although I did buy the Herbie's Tube dampers based on what I read here (I also have a thing for titanium). I am more of a "set and enjoy" kind of person and I know that I will be VERY happy for a long time with the current combo. Finally, sincere thanks are owed to George at tubesusa and Wayne at Bolder - both were consummate professionals in my dealings with them.
Mark