Modwright LS100 vs The followings

i would concur that dan wrights tube rectified gear all benefit greatly from moving from the stock present day russian 5ar4's to old stock mullard or amperex ones

Hi gte357s,
I’ve heard 5 different DACs in my system running through the CSL . Each of them were very good (Not a dog amongst them). The individual sonic signature of each one was easily and clearly distinct from the others. Same outcome when a friend brought by different IC cables to compare. Also no problems clearly hearing differences between numerous 300b tubes.

I believe that it’s pretty easy to tailor the sound of an audio system using the CSL as it does minimal editorializing of what’s in the signal path. The 101d DHT is a different character from the 6SN7 (Which I’ve used in prior audio systems). Probably why Mick of Supratek has a line stage that offers choice of both of these tubes.

Israel Blume settled on the 101d specifically for its relatively "invisible " signature (Nothing’s perfectly a straight wire with gain). He wanted The very linear quality of this tube for its air, openess and resolution. The highly popular (well deserved) 6SN7 has a beautiful sound as well but I believe with a touch more of the coveted tube bloom/ character.

I know with the Supratek option some listeners prefer 6SN7 and others 101d depending obviously on what else makes up the specific audio system. I believe a superb system could be built with the CSL or the Modwright LS 100 depending on desired objectives.

BTW gte357s you mentioned the CSL "works well"  with silver cables. My experience as well, I use the Ocellia Silver Reference (Previous generation) . Overall excellent match , very pure, organic and nuanced with beautiful tone and timbre . There is natural warmth with this pairing.
Charles

That’s exactly right.  For the Modwright, the difference in sound is not as obvious when changing tubes and cables.  For the CSL, it is VERY obvious.  I guess that’s what transparent means?  It doesn’t add anything as it is not there.  So, the CSL requires some effort to match to get the best out of it.  To be honest, when I first get it, it doesn’t match very well with my system.  I even thought if I get a defective unit.  Then I spent quite a lot of time playing with all different combinations of tubes and cables, and finally found one now that I feel it sounds quite good now.  Since the DAC sound so good with the Modwright, I can’t imagine I need to change the tubes initially; until I tried back my old Audio-gd DAC and doesn’t have that kind of distorted sound.  Finally, I found out the stock Chinese 6N1P tubes with gain set to high solve the problem!  All my nice vintage tubes doesn’t work, really have no ideal.  But anyway, I am happy now.  

Actually, I am not 100% correct.  While the DAC sound good with ModWright, it is actually not “right” but I never realize it.  After I change back to the stock 6N1P, when I go back to ModWright, it sounds more “correct”. There are more slam as how I hear the same song at my friend’s place.  

Hi@gte357s,
I’ve never heard an Otomon Lab amplifier but I know they are highly regarded custom Japanese products. I would imagine that it mates well with your two line stages. Does yours utilize Tango or Tamura output transformers?
what 300b tubes are you using?
How does the Otomon compare to your Triode Lab 2A3?
Charles