Sunvalley SV-Pre1616D Point to Point Project

I received my preamp (assembled) a few weeks ago from Victor - Thank you Victor! I'm running a Cossor WE274b rectifier tube, two Gold Lion 12AX7, and have been going back and forth between a Gold Lion 12AU7 and NOS Valvo 12AT7. It was upgraded with two Vcap Odam 4.7 Capacitors.
My amp is the 8600s with WE 300b tubes. At this point. I have quit a fews hours of playtime on the SV-Pre1616D. When I retired my previous preamp setup I spent a month just plugging and unplugging my sources directly into the 8600. I was amazed at how good it sounded across the board without a preamp in the chain. This makes sense, of course, but manually switching out cables was not sustainable so I decided to try the SV-Pre1616D. I'm very happy with the looks (In contrast with Elekit stuff - which I absolutely love for sound - but are not the prettiest) and build quality, but it does degrade the sound of the 8600. The 12AT7 is smoother on the high end than the 12AU7 - especially with jazz and electronic music but it's all still a little harsh compared with the insanely good sound of just the 8600s with WE300b tubes. I was thinking of upgrading the volume control (my previous preamp had a Khozmo 64-step attenuator which was excellent) but I'm not sure if this would address the harshness I'm hearing. Does anyone have thoughts on additional upgrades I could make? Different tubes? A specific volume control option? Or why, besides the additional circuitry, that the sound is degraded.
Thanks!
 

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Every time you add a component in the chain there will upsides and downsides.

The stock volume pot in the SunValley could defiantly use an upgrade,

Unfortunately the tubes with the sound you seek are virtually unobtanium. A Telefunken smooth plate 12AU7 would be worth a shot, even a used one.

12AX7s are not my fave tubes but again a pair of Telefunkens might work for you. Again, even a used pair might be worthwhile trying. As a poor man's Tele 12AX7, consider a pair of NOS East German RFT ECC83s. They have some, IMHO, of the Telefunken gestalt but might be enough of what you are looking for, for a lot less money.

Be sure to run any new tubes for at least 50 hours before coming to any conclusions. Your V-Caps might need a couple of hundred hours before sounding their best.

S.
 
Thanks Steve!
Thanks for all that. Maybe some smooth plate 12Au7 would be all it takes. They sound great on the 8600
Every time you add a component in the chain there will upsides and downsides.

The stock volume pot in the SunValley could defiantly use an upgrade,

Unfortunately the tubes with the sound you seek are virtually unobtanium. A Telefunken smooth plate 12AU7 would be worth a shot, even a used one.

12AX7s are not my fave tubes but again a pair of Telefunkens might work for you. Again, even a used pair might be worthwhile trying. As a poor man's Tele 12AX7, consider a pair of NOS East German RFT ECC83s. They have some, IMHO, of the Telefunken gestalt but might be enough of what you are looking for, for a lot less money.

Be sure to run any new tubes for at least 50 hours before coming to any conclusions. Your V-Caps might need a couple of hundred hours before sounding their best.

S.
 
I’m leaning towards upgrading the line level and input selector to a Goldpoint level attenuator and selector switch.
Arn at Goldpoint thinks the stock balance control may restrict the potential improvements of the upgraded line level. He suggested getting rid of the balance control and replacing with a second mono level attenuator. This certainly makes sense but for a few reasons I’d prefer keeping it as is.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Digging around online I couldn’t find many balance controls. And not sure of the quality of the Sunvalley. I did find these:

https://partsconnexion.com/products/audio-note-100k-ohm-stereo-balance-potentiometer

http://www.analogmetric.com/goods.php?id=2471
 
My concerns with two mono line levels are that the label on the enclosure would be mislabeled (unless I paint it) and my family would have a hard time with two volume controls - So I’d rather find a high quality balance control that wouldn’t degrade the signal (and keep a two channel line). But maybe this doesn’t exist and two mono attenuators is the only way to go if I want to make a real improvement
 
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