After restoring my vintage amp and tuner, I finally got to hear one of the master's own creations, the tube buffer. The unit was actually ordered by a friend but couldn't find time to pick it up. Lucky me (parang pancit 'no), I got to audition and break in a fabulous product.
I hooked it up between my NAD cdp and Scott 233 integrated and my beloved B&W DM630 at the end of the chain. How did it sound? Thin, narrow soundstage, shallow depth just like any cdp below 10k budget. I turned it off after 3 tracks. So, finally, I hooked up the tube buffer between the NAD and the amp. Wow! Just to quote Jojo, "it's like night and day". The highs and mids sparkled with a warm and airy detail.The soundstage was wide, great depth and the sound was 3 dimensional. After listening to an entire cd, I decided to add a dac, a small-time AA ditb, in the chain. The gain and dynamics of the dac kicked in while retaining its warm and airy tone, a lot better than the last test. I said to myself, "I gotta have one o' these". I texted my friend and told him if this thing gets to stay overnight with me, aampunin ko na 'to. Soon enough he was there knocking on my doorstep - he cancelled his last meeting.
We tested it also on my AMX EL34 integrated, since he has an AMX too, and it performed just as flawlessly, just a tad brighter. 4 tracks later he was packing it and left hurriedly so excited to hook it up to his system. I didn't stop him, it's midnight and 7 straight hrs of listening can be taxing too.
To the master, a job well done. Hats off to you!