Galion Navy — DNR Worthy Tube Enchantment
Have left a DNR note by my listening place lately to let nature take its course in the event of an auditory overdose... Mesmerizing, hypnotic, and seductive would be the words that come to mind describing what the Navy does in system.
Will leave a note that this, like the P75, has been very sensitive to cable and tube changes... a shielded Oyaide Tunami GPX-R V2 proved unsuitable leaving some 50-60 Hz hum, this was entirely corrected with a cable swap such that the speakers are dead silent from my current listening position.
With the Brimar Yellow-T's, which I tried first, I usually have 2–5° of toe-in and was surprised to find I could aim my speakers directly at my shoulders without overexciting the top end. It's as Thomas has said, first impressions of the Navy most listeners will be struck, I noticed a midrange presence immediately distinguishing itself from anything I had previously heard in my own system, and the Brimars complemented this beautifully. Overall this pairing proved highly enjoyable, as a dark, tonally dense presentation with somewhat loose bass, trading in some amount of detail.
Swapping in the Cryotones brought a substantial amount of clarity, where I would reset toe in back to 2-5°. This pairing proved the most natural (in the P75 I was at pains to distinguish the Cryotone pairing from a direct DAC to amp connection), which showcases the midrange without ever becoming too forward and brought out minute top end detail without ever being fatiguing. This pairing shows what the preamplifier is doing with minimal tube coloration, some might say this was a darker presentation still than a direct DAC to amp connection, I think instead I'll say it shifts the instrument positioning somewhat to bring voices front and center, then locates drums or piano a bit further back, reducing their footprint without diminishing their impact. This was not a presentation I knew to seek out but one that lends itself to far longer and more enjoyable listening sessions.
The Ray Tubes I preferred in many ways over the Brimars, but less so than the Cryotones. The Navy is already tonally rich and saturated, dense in its delivery, and to my ears benefits less from the Ray Tubes than does the P75. They surrender only a small amount of detail relative to the Cryotones, and each have about equally wonderful bass. I've been repeatedly impressed with how this preamplifier balances dense tonal mass with speed and nimbleness, and the Ray Tubes pushed that balance even further through added weight and saturation.
Currently I am using the Cryotones in the gain stage and Brimars in the buffer stage, this is preserving the Navy's convincing musical illusions while also delivery a certain vocal x-factor, where voices are breathy, fleshy, and intimate. The soundstage involves complete speaker disappearance, a certain wraparound three-dimensional effect, and naturally proportional imaging.
