So the the new tubes have about 50 hours on them (not really sure how many hours they really need to settle in all the way) but they changed a bit after the first 25 hours and not much since then. What is apparent is that the tubes that came in the amps were in fact at the end of their useful life which is fine as the previous owner represented it as such. With the new tubes in place the first thing that hit me was how much more dynamic these amps were and how much more power they seem to have on tap than with the original set of tubes. Again while I've had tube preamps in most all my systems these are my first tube amps so I'm not sure I realized that worn out power tubes didn't put out as much power but it does make sense. Before the new tubes ... I was a little concerned I might be tempted to think I needed two sets of these amps but now that the amps have been re-tubed that thought is a distant memory. True that I have a relatively small room at 20X24 but these amps have more than sufficient power to drive the Wilson Alexx speakers. Listening to Dire Straits at an average of 82 db with peaks in the low 90's at roughly 11 ft away from the speakers. No, it's not going to play Metallica for my son the way the Levinson's did but that's not what I'm playing through this system anyway.
As I thought about how to describe what I'm hearing and absolutely loving about these amps it struck me that listening to a particular track that had two different kinds of guitars playing ... in the past the two guitars had sounded like they were the same kind of guitar playing via the same guitar amps. Now with the Rex's in charge of the performance I could clearly hear that the two different guitar setups could not be more different. What I'm hearing is a much more faithful recreation of the tonality of the instruments being played. Then I played a few large orchestral pieces and was completely blown away by how nuanced the system could be now ... much closer to going to listen to Dallas Symphony Orchestra than before. My setup sounded best plugged into the 3-4 ohm taps with that having the best bass control and overall sonics. The 8 ohm tap certainly sounded like it produced more "air" but I mean .. how much more air do you need with 160W Triodes anyway?
Where the amps don't perform as well as the levinsons is in pure Bass output. Those big guys have a solid grip on the bottom end that is going to take a lot more money than I can spend on the system right now to beat and get all the things these tube amps are doing really well. I would say the Levinson's also seemed to have a slightly more focused image than the Rex's, slight but noticeable. I have heard systems I like much better than the REX's for sure. My favorite to date has been the all VAC Statement system at the Florida expo a few years ago and that was even before the 452's came out. I'm sure those are incredible. They should be for the money. What I can say though is that for now I am completely satisfied that I have created the very best sounding system (to me) that I can for the money involved. My next steps will probably involve looking at my digital front end again and upgrading my phono preamp to thew newer VTL 6.5II since I have the original and really love it. I've already had the REX II preamp for 5 years and now I could see me keeping the Rex band together for another 5 years or more until something much better (and much more money) comes along. And let's face it .. if as I get closer to retirement other priorities take top spot ... I'd be happy with the Rex's for a long time to come!
Cheers and happy listening!
George
