Thanks for all of your inputs. I will probably get a 990 and expand from there. I have never heard of using a tube buffer as psyprof1 and akdrama have done. I will start my research. Thanks again to all that have helped.

Goyangi...

I received my buffers today. Initial impression is (as psyprof1 stated earlier) more presence to the sound. The sound is more forward. The 990 for me is more than satisfying for HT...for the synergy between the outlaws and my Mirage OM-5 speakers (laid back in the lower midrange) there was quite not enough musicality. These tube buffers/processors are a good enhancement. If you find this to be the case with your Vandersteins (which I haven't listened to since I was a teenager in the mid-80's) the buffers are a low budget way for more musicality.

To make my long opinion short...I highly doubt you will regret a 990 purchase. And you should be able to tweak to your satisfaction.

Cool! Sounds like a good way to go. I'll let you know as I rebuild my system. Thank's.

Akdrama, I just visited the Grant Fidelity site and took a look at the tube buffer you purchased. It does indeed look like the one labeled Yaqin, except that my unit uses only one tube. The rear of the chassis is identical.
How do you plan to use two of them? It would be interesting to hear if the second (between CD player and preamp?) improves the sound still further.
Happy listening.

Prof...

At present, I am only using one, and it is between my CDP and the preamp. My thought is to let one settle in and get adjust to the sound change. Plus, with limited funds I am breaking in two cheap sets of RadShack gold series rca's. As I posted in another thread, I've been researching various $100 rcas and DIYs. For immediacy I bought the RadShacks. This also gives me the opportunity gauge effect of the change in cables. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the change in sonic quality as I switch out rcas. In the next week, I am going to make some rca's (design suggested by Altec).

Concerning the second...I am contemplating experimenting with it in the living room on (my ladies hand-me-down system)...a Sony digital receiver with Mirage Omnisats and a low end dvd player. I am really curious to see what influence the buffer will have there.

There has been a good amount of change to my system in the last six months. So, the next step is to get caught up in the rcas, get them broken in and then do more serious listening. Plus, I have a second analog output on the CDP which I will hook up directly to the preamp. This will give me the best opportunity to gauge any differences. However, I have to say, I've been switching back and forth between digital with up sampling and the analog with buffer. The 990's up sampling is impressive. The buffer still has a little more bass and slight more depth. There is a good decibel difference between digital bypass and analog bypass, however with the digital up sampling the sound volume matches up.

If I understand the sound paths correctly...where I place the buffer will depend on which DAC I like (the CDP or the 990.) Could be interesting to hear the buffer after the digital upsampling. I also have an older Nakamichi CDP that I would like to pass through the buffer. Lots of choices.

Prof, out of curiosity, what cd player are you using?

I hope I haven't rambled too much. I live in a small town and do not know any other audiophiles. It's fun to share the experience of sonic changes. I try and talk to some of my friends about it, but their eyes glaze over. Fortunately, my lady likes to sit with me and sample different music.

Ak

Thanks for the kind words, akdrama. My player is a Pioneer DV-578A, the cheapest "universal" player (CD, DVD, DVD-A, SACD) I could find at the time I was looking. That was just before I heard of the Oppo units. As I think I've already written, the Pioneer feeds the 990 a digital signal via a Mapleshade Ultrathin coax connector ($42 for 1 meter), so I'm using the 990's DAC (unless I set the 990 to 7.1 input, in which case the Pioneer's DAC feeds the 990's left and right analog inputs). The tube buffer is between the 990 and my Adcom GFA535 power amplifier. That is the only way it can affect all possible audio sources.
As anyone reading this can conclude, I may have champagne tastes but my budget is at the imported beer level.

goyangi, I just stumbled over this . You might find it interesting for your research.

psyprof1

You recently posted that you have a Pioneer DV-578A player and maybe an Oppo player? I also have the Pioneer and am contemplating buying a Oppo DV-980H. If you(or any other Outlaws) did buy the 980H, I was curious as to how you thought it compared to the Pioneer. My system is used 99% music and the majority of that is multi-channel.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

No, spanky, I meant I bought the Pioneer and still have it, but wish I'd waited for the Oppo. So I'm as curious as you are about how the two compare.
Best.