Cal Audio Alpha 24/96 upgrade?

One other thing. If you use your DAC on a regular basis, i would simply leave it on all the time. I've done this and never had any problems whatsoever. Life expectancy of a low level tube like this is VERY long compared to what you get out of a power tube. Not only does this negate warm up time, the internal temperature of the DAC remains consistent, making its' operation more stable. Besides that, the high volume of in-rush current DEFINETLY shortens the lifespan of ANY component. The only time that i would worry about leaving it on would be if i lived in a "black-out" zone or the area was prone to very heavy electrical storms. Sean
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Your CAL setup has a very nice sound. The tubes give that combo some bloom. I use to have it about four years ago. Also Metronome is made in France and imported out of New York city by Fanfare international. Who has a very poor track record on their service department.(I know personally)The Metronome cd 2v is also a nice sounding peice but not one of a high recommendation from me.It depends on your budget? Its not worth the upgrade on the cal.Yes you will hear an improvement but no its not worth the money. The Theta miles is a very nice sounding cd player no longer made but very good especailly at the price you will buy it for on the used market. About 1,300. The Arcam FMJ is a great sounding cd player as well. The Wadia 850 is very good also. My favorite is The Levinson 39 as many people know. Good luck if I can help you in any way please feel free to email me and I will assist in your quest for a great player. good luck: Daniel

I bought my Cal unit from Galen Carol Audio.
At that time, he ststed(and I purchased) a matched
set of low noise RCA 5751's. They sound much better
than the stock tubes and only(?) cost $20 each. I also
have a VAC and Aronov tube preamps so I have tried
NOS tubes of different makes in the Cal. I always
return to the5751's. It is a matter of personal
taste in sound and your system in general. I have also
heard the upgrade degrades the overall sound quality.
I am putting my $450 plus shipping towards either an
EMC-1 or Audiomeca unit.If you have the matching Cal drive,
it reportedly won't read 24/96 formated disc's. You will also need a new transport. Buy a new player and save thecost of a better drive and cable.

Thanks for all of the great advice everybody, I think I will be trying some different tubes for now. Later on I might consider a better player, or maybe a combo dvd/cd like the Cal CL-20 or equal. Has anyone used this player? and does it sound as good or better than my Alpha/Delta?

I have a Cal Icon, and have a/b it extensively with the Alpha/Delta combo. Very slight increase in low level resolution in the 24/96 alpha. Why spend $450 for an upgrade that is small when you could get an EVS Millenium II for $1050 and make substantial improvements and get true upsampling to 24/96