NAD: SL-X!!

[Antag]

Interesting, do you have any tips on what you can do to "open" up the savage's pre amp. I absolutely love what the lead boost does to mine eq wise but find that when engaged it creates too much saturation and compression to be truly usable currently. I was thinking of perphaps dropping a 5751 in the V1 position?

Yes, that's exactly what I did:
JAN Philps 5751 in V1
JJ ECC83S DR250 in V2-4

Read here :)

The other trick I read about was to use an ECC81/12AT7 in the PI (V6).  I did actually buy an ECC81, but was so bowled over by the change I already made that I never got around to trying it...

[Antag]

The other BIG difference (though not really relevant to how brutal) is that the Savage can be used at almost ANY volume, but the SL-X needs to be loud

The Savage's 6550 power section is so "clean".  It really can sound fantastic right down to almost conversational volume - no loss of low end or gain, no need for an attenuator, no flicking switches, just set the Master vol where you want & enjoy the ungodly heaviness :twisted:

But the SL-X needs its Master Volume at 3 before it really opens up.  There's a sudden & definite jump in low end & gain at about that level, like an engine suddenly bursting into life :)

It may sound counter-intuitive but the 120 watt head is the one I use once the kids are in bed, not the 100 watt head with the half power switch...

[gordiji]

looks great, i'm sure it sounds so too.I like engl's , so does ritchie blackmore who says they're the best amps he's ever played ....... but i prefered his tone when he used marshalls( a major i think modded up to 275w). i think he's on record for saying that the engl's are much better at lower vol's which is what you confirm. have fun