After another night of listening the X1's sound has improved slightly. I have been tube rolling in my DAC all night and found that a pair of RCA Clear tops without a center shield sound the best overall except for it being a little bass heavy but I guess I will have to live with it. It now has a slightly darker sound which I prefer and it is more tube like. The midrange had more weight with the RCA's (it is interesting because the Clear tops did not sound well with the VA preamp). I have a couple more tubes to try. The X1 is definitely smooth with a little more fidelity but it is still missing some of the tube tube harmonics that make my VA preamp a pleasure to listen to.

The X1 has a more airy, transparent but softer sound and the VA has a better midrange with almost as much air and sound stage. The vocals are to die for with the VA as they have more weight and texture. I will probably keep the X1 until I can find a nice tube preamp in the future. I am still going to give Frank Van Alstine a call and see if I can take his new FET Valve preamp home for a spin to compare to the X1. I just wish it had XLR's as the out going FET did.