[boycephoto]

Everyone must be enjoying their AVA equipment, it has everyone captivated, there's nothing to talk about.

I know I have been enjoying mine.

[martyo]

Everyone must be enjoying their AVA equipment, it has everyone captivated, there's nothing to talk about.

I know I have been enjoying mine.

I got a lot of time in this weekend

[WGH]

Not much to enjoy over here. My amp is spending the long weekend in Woodbury, MN getting a double die + upgrade and the old amp I'm using sucks.

Wayne

[mathgeek97]

I already ordered a Vision EC DAC, T8+ pre, and an Insight+ Double 260 last week.  Now I've got nothin' to talk about.  Just waiting patiently...

[JerryM]

I already ordered a Vision EC DAC, T8+ pre, and an Insight+ Double 260 last week.  Now I've got nothin' to talk about.  Just waiting patiently...

There's plenty to talk about.     What speakers are you going to connect all this new gear to?

Congrats!,
Jerry

[mathgeek97]

There's plenty to talk about.     What speakers are you going to connect all this new gear to?

The AVA gear is replacing (don't laugh, please) my Denon 3808CI HT receiver, which never did justice to my Salk HT2-TLs.  The AVA setup won't be as kid/wife friendly - they will actually have to flip switches instead of pressing a single button on the Harmony 880 remote.
I'll be feeding the DAC with an Apple Airport Express, an OPPO BDP-83, and maybe the cable TV box's optical out.  Oh, and if the kids are nice to me, I'll connect the Wii to the T8
Also, no immediate plans to do any tube rolling.  Figured I'd better listen for a while to decide what I do/don't like.

[martyo]

The AVA gear is replacing (don't laugh, please) my Denon 3808CI HT receiver, which never did justice to my Salk HT2-TLs.  The AVA setup won't be as kid/wife friendly - they will actually have to flip switches instead of pressing a single button on the Harmony 880 remote.
I'll be feeding the DAC with an Apple Airport Express, an OPPO BDP-83, and maybe the cable TV box's optical out.  Oh, and if the kids are nice to me, I'll connect the Wii to the T8
Also, no immediate plans to do any tube rolling.  Figured I'd better listen for a while to decide what I do/don't like.

Very nice upgrade. 
In my experience, your wife and kids will do just fine. 

[ArthurDent]

The AVA setup won't be as kid/wife friendly - they will actually have to flip switches instead of pressing a single button on the Harmony 880 remote.

+1 on martyo's post. One thought, a friend did this on his setup (also AVA) for his family, a tag or such on the amp stating " Last On, First Off". Until everyone get's used to the new routine. Have fun with the new toys, no doubt you'll enjoy the sound and it will make your Salks sing.   

[martyo]

Also, no immediate plans to do any tube rolling.  Figured I'd better listen for a while to decide what I do/don't like

Many folks are completely happy with the stock tubes, and it's much cheaper.

If you do decide to roll any tubes, the old experienced ArthurDent should be able to help. 

[Tom Alverson]

The AVA gear is replacing (don't laugh, please) my Denon 3808CI HT receiver, which never did justice to my Salk HT2-TLs.  The AVA setup won't be as kid/wife friendly - they will actually have to flip switches instead of pressing a single button on the Harmony 880 remote.

If you are going to let the kids touch your good stereo, the first thing you should do is replace the speaker fuses in the amp with 3 amp fuses.  If YOU blow them, then go to 4 amp.  I never blew the 3 amp fuses I put in my FetValve 500 (driving B&W Matrix 3 S2 speakers), but the kids did twice (while I was at work).

[ArthurDent]

If you do decide to roll any tubes, the old experienced ArthurDent should be able to help. 

Well he got the old part right. 

As to experienced, that's a big time leg pull.    Changing one set of tubes based on the recommendations in the 'Tube Rolling Thread' qualifies me as little more than as a newbie. I'd agree that things are very sweet as delivered, and only boredom or the seemingly inescapeable insanity/curiosity that goes with the hobby are grounds to start browsing around. 

Let us know your thoughts once things are setup and rockin'.   

[tonyptony]

Not much to enjoy over here. My amp is spending the long weekend in Woodbury, MN getting a double die + upgrade and the old amp I'm using sucks.

Wayne

That makes two of us.

Hey Frank, hope everything is okay at your end. Haven't heard from you in a bit.

[WGH]

It's going to be a long 30 days. 

Wayne

[mathgeek97]

If you are going to let the kids touch your good stereo, the first thing you should do is replace the speaker fuses in the amp with 3 amp fuses.  If YOU blow them, then go to 4 amp.  I never blew the 3 amp fuses I put in my FetValve 500 (driving B&W Matrix 3 S2 speakers), but the kids did twice (while I was at work).

Um... How'd they blow the fuses?  BTW, when my teenaged son was 3, he thought to pull his night-light 1/2 way out of the socket and drop a penny across the prongs.  Talk about blowing fuses!!!

[mathgeek97]

It's going to be a long 30 days. 

Wayne

30 days is easy.  I get my house back this week after being out for 90 days for repairs from a fire.  I always thought it'd be a fun adventure to live with my family in a hotel. Bwahahahahhahaha!  I am looking forward to many hours of music therapy!

[JerryM]

30 days is easy.  I get my house back this week after being out for 90 days for repairs from a fire.  I always thought it'd be a fun adventure to live with my family in a hotel. Bwahahahahhahaha!  I am looking forward to many hours of music therapy!

See, plenty to talk about. 

What's the first song you're going to play once you have it all set up?      Do you have a list yet? 

Hoping you and yours have a nice homecoming,
Jerry

[tonyptony]

That makes two of us.

Hey Frank, hope everything is okay at your end. Haven't heard from you in a bit.

And like magic an upgraded FetValve Double + arrived at my door today. I just have had it out of the box long enough to pull the cover and drool over the innards, plug it in to make sure the tubes glowed that special orange-gold color, and then put the cover back on (after powering off of course!). With my preamp temporarily out of my system I have to jigger a bit to hook my media server directly up to the amp to give it a quick listen.

[tonyptony]

It's alive! Okay, so without my preamp and some other regular bits in place it's hard for me to jump up and down and say "It's waay better than before the upgrade". But it sounds pretty good, and clearly no problems (I would expect nothing less from AVA ).

I'll let it cook for a bit. More to come when my other stuff is back in place.

Thanks Frank!

[boycephoto]

Hey Tony,

you upgraded to a Fet/Valve double+ from what?  I have an OmegaStarEX 440HC, I think it's time to go for an Insight+ 440H. 

I would like to hear about your upgrade experience, specifically what differences do you hear. 

Enjoy!
Dave

[tonyptony]

This change was from my Ultra 550. The Ultra 550 was an upgrade from my FetValve 550EXR5. My observations of that first upgrade are in an older thread that I suspect can be found via a search.

My friend is still using a FetValve 550HC, which came before the EXR series. His system is not the same as mine but he also uses Shahinian speakers which are voiced very much like mine. That amp still sounds pretty nice.

I'm of the controlled experiment mindset so I hesitate to make any detailed comparisons until my system is back to its normal state.