So, I've now had the Reality SCs in place and playing for a couple hours, and as is pretty typical, the results are mixed. The Realitys are certainly more even from top to bottom, and that's a very good thing. They also add a lot of weight to the bottom end -- also a good thing. The detail that the Grover's had brought is still there but somewhat recessed, and there's still a bit of an edge on the very top end. However... here's what I'm thinking is going on... My amp is sitting on the floor on a pair of 2" thick maple platforms with Mapleshade iso-blocks under them, and no other isolation. From the first day I knew this was a problem because I could put my finger lightly on the chassis and feel it vibrating with the bass notes. Now that the bass notes are significantly more pronounced (I can really feel the floor vibrating at the listening position at levels much less than was required to do this before) so I'm pretty sure the added vibration is causing some loss of detail, ambience information (such as reverberations caused by the recording studio walls, etc.), and may also be partly to blame for the edge on the highs. This is a pretty typical behavior for an improperly isolated tube amp, as is the general veil over everything that wasn't there before the Realitys were put in.
I also know that the stock Denon 3910 has a bit of glare on the top end -- that's why we put a set of HRS Nimbuses under them -- that made things much better -- tighter bass, and greatly reduced glare, but it did not get rid of it entirely, and what I have now seems to be about the same as it was before Grovers. I hope all that made sense.
My gut feeling right now is that the new Grovers and Realitys could end up being a very nice combination, but I won't know until the new rack is setup and everything is properly isolated. Sending the 3910 to Dan Wright for the top end mods will also help quite a bit.
Then after all that is dialed in, it will be time to find the right replacements for the EH 12AU7s and 12AX7s, and the 5AR4, which again, from experience, is going to make a significant improvement as well.
Good that this audio thing isn't a race.
A couple more days with the current setup, and it will be time to take it all apart and get on with the remodel that is going to allow for better placement (further apart, and further from the front wall) of the speakers, a proper rack, and better electrical distribution (which although not planned this way, looks like I will have the audio system on it's own breaker.) I did look into running a dedicated line or two, but because the basement is already finished, and a number of other issues, it would cost way too much to get the wire run, and then a lot more to repair all the damage along the way. Not going there.
So for now, I'm not going to have anything more to say about all this until everything is setup again in it's new home -- though I will say, it looks very much like the Grovers will be staying for a good while.
I will be very interested to hear what everybody else thinks as their cables settle down, and I'm still going to keep an open mind about the Grover SCs.
Whatever happens, the one thing I can definitely say about these ICs is that they sound waaaaay better than their price would suggest.
-- Jim
