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Besides having the opportunity to tube roll the First Sound, it is also possible to subtly alter the sound by swapping interconnects between the inputs with their different internal wiring. The CD input uses 18.5g, the Line 2 19.5g wiring both from the same manufacturer with the dielectric removed to eliminate any effect it has on the sound. The CD input is usually the best for your main source component whilst the rest are from another manufacturer, being 18g copper with a black sheath. The most frustrating possible problem with separates is low-level buzz or hum, commonly the result of a grounding mismatch between components. In my experience it’s more prevalent when valves and transformers are involved (although transformers of transistor amps can introduce their own mechanical buzz/hum). Should you be the ungrateful recipient of such annoying distraction, your first port of call here should be the two toggle switches under the chassis. Here’s what Emmanuel had to say about them what exactly they do?


The 2 internal toggles are for the triodes, one per, if they have hum or are a little noisy. It may greatly reduce or eliminate the hum/noise. Up position is out of the circuit. Down position is engaged. My preference is the up position. Since this isn't included in the manual when there are numerous warnings of the lethal shock awaiting a careless hand, I think it's safe to assume Emmanuel is sensibly trying to dissuade his customers from unscrewing the 16 screws which facilitate removal of the chassis lid other than when the valves have to be changed. Once again here the manual gives very specific instructions what procedure to follow and which precautions are to be taken when this is necessary.


While we're on the subject of valves, the MkIII's complement consists of two OA2 regulators and two 6922 signal valves. The stock tubes are Russian 6N-1P with 2 poles holding the getter. Emmanuel reports that there is a version with only one pole. This does not sound as good. My loaner came supplied with a couple of NOS Mullard CV2493 which Emmanuel doesn't sell but he can put interested parties in touch with the independent seller who does. With capacitors well and truly drained by depressing the discharge button for five minutes as a precaution, I carefully removed the lid to see the innards. First impressions were of the general neatness of the layout but what really took my eye was the way the strands of the copper signal wire connected to either side of the attenuator had been carefully separated from each other. When I asked Emmanuel about this he explained: The output wires (from the output of the capacitors to the attenuator and from the attenuator to the output RCA) are separated to minimize the vibrational effects of wires being bundled together. As signal passes through a wire, the wire vibrates. If there are two wires besides each other, these vibrations multiply. If there are three wires together, the vibrations multiply further and so forth. Such vibration in wires can cause signal smear and blur. Separating the individual wires lessens or eliminates the effects of vibrations being multiplied by adjacent wires. Furthermore there is no sheath. The negative effects of the dielectric is not present.


Setup. At the Audio World 2011 Show, the First Sound Presence Deluxe MkIII was partnered with the Modwright KW150 Special Edition, which although a Class A/B power amp certainly did not offend my own valve-attuned ears. Hence the interest in reviewing either of these two components. While double-checking the A/B spec of the amp on Google, I came across Srajan's May 2009 review of the earlier non-SE Modwright KW150 which seemed to tarry with my own brief encounter. I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be more discussion on the net about this amp considering it seems to combine many of the qualities of valves with those of transistors. Another amp in this mould is the AMR AM-77 integrated which I reviewed previously. While managing to hold onto it I thought it would be interesting to configure it to 'power amp' mode at some point to pair with the First Sound, recreating a valve pre/high-powered valve-sounding SS power amp pairing similar to the First Sound/Modwright at least in theory.


First the DIY HiFi Supply Lux91 300B amps would remain in situ so it was finally time to flick the switch on. But it actually isn’t a switch as such but an electromagnetic circuit breaker which serves the same function without a regular AC fuse as a safety feature. Anyone who has experienced the improvement of  audiophile grade fuses will appreciate that there are real gains to be had. This circuit breaker's connections are soldered to maximise these gains. Before commencing the serious comparative evaluation it was necessary to level match the Music First Silver TVC and First Sound Presence Deluxe. Initially I suspected this to be tricky as both have stepped attenuators rather than potentiometers - the Music First clicks between different transformer taps, the Presence between an array of discrete resistors.


Sod's Law suggested that when turning the attenuator of one pre to dial in the perfect level match, this would lie between steps for the other, leading to fun and games trying to find a step where they corresponded. I couldn't have been more wrong! At my usual listening level with the 300B amps, the TVC dial at 12 read 45.3dB and the First Sound settled very nicely on 45.3dB at 17. I felt similar to Luke Skywalker when he released his nuclear depth charge at high speed and against all odds it disappeared down a two-meter exhaust vent and into the bowels of the Death Star.


Sod’s Law would not be denied however. Work commitments decreed a week would pass before I could plan an evening for music listening whilst in the meantime I’d procured a pair of Italian floorstanders for review which were to arrive the day after. This necessitated the removal of the Audio Note AN-Es and their stands upstairs to make room and in their place went the far more manoeuvrable Dynaudio Contour 1.3 standmount MkIIs with their much smaller footprints. I've come to appreciate them over the years as excellent reviewing tools but at 86dB the Contours are not exactly valve-friendly. A consideration now was that my 300B amps might exaggerate differences between the First Sound Presence Deluxe and the copper and silver versions of Music First's TVCs  because the latter are without a gain stage to give the 300Bs a leg up. So 'at some point' became the present and the AMR AM-77 was pressed to service. In no time at all the Dynaudios and their Atacama stands were set up seven feet apart and the toe-in was increased incrementally until they cast a deep enveloping soundstage in which they disappeared completely. The perfect level matching achieved with the 300B Lux91s wasn't to be repeated although 53dB with the First Sound Presence Deluxe at 9 on the dial almost achieved parity with the Music First TVCs' 52.5dB at 30 on their dials.


Sonics. Listening to Johnny Cash's American III: Solitary Man, the late great Man in Black appears to be about eight to ten inches left of center for the title track "Solitary Man" whilst he sits dead center for his brilliant rendition of U2's "One". Throughout the whole album he seems to shift on his seat from center to left and back again, which I realise is probably down to the sound engineer's altering of the balance though I prefer to think Johnny was restless. Regardless, it's a useful CD for positioning speakers as on 'One' he should present a rock solid central image on vocals, the guitar accompaniments should be separated left and right and his position should alter as already described when skipping through the different tracks. The final consideration during setup was that the First Sound inverts polarity so the speaker cables’ positive/negative connections had to be reversed either at the amp or speakers.