will
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Kana,
I knew you were comparing a serious set of mono-blocks. And especially, since you are working with an amp that cost a minor fraction of those, I did not think it unreasonable to suggest tubes, settings (and accessories for that matter) might need some tuning to get the most from your amp for your setting and tastes. And it is possible your standards have surpassed the capabilities of this amp, but this would surprise me.
To try to get a sense of your experience, I put in stock tubes. Mine are OA3, OC2, Winged C EL34, Ruby 5U4G, 6N1Ps. Then i set the bass and treble to your half settings. I would say the sound is lifeless too. So we might define lifeless similarly. And I liked it better with the bias and impedance pushed, as you found.
I then turned up the trebles and it became more alive. Then I turned the bass knobs full to the open sound side....still better..... But finally, to me (as things are set up here, which with my amp all matters....feet, foot placement, cables etc.) still not near as alive as I have come to expect.
Then I put in some Amperex 6922s, similarly warm to the 6N1Ps, ....way better, and way louder. More texture, focus and definition, but I did not like the bias up and the high impedance at this point so changed back to neutral. Then I tried the 60s Siemens 6DJ8s I have been using lately....way more alive again, but still a little dull in the low mids, and a little undefined in the bass for me, leaving the sound unbalanced. So I turned the bass knobs to the tight side. Better, but the same problems, just less, pointing to the other tubes.
Finally, I put the tubes back to what I had in (OB3 [not OA3], OC2, Siemens 6DJ8, RFT El34, and the stock Ruby 5U4G) the sound was still a little off. So I put the tube dampers back on the front EL34s, 6DJ8s and Rectifiers, the treble still near topped out, the bass still on tightest, and impedance/bias neutral, and I have a sound I like a lot in this system/room. Textured, detailed, a little warm, good bass and alive top to bottom.
I can't recall exactly my initial Torii impressions exactly, but I had had a Decware SE34 so knew I liked the Decware sound. After it the Torii was too dense/bass weighted for me, so I started exploring with tubes I had, feet, cables, room etc. And this made me realize I could find a sound liked, so kept the Torii and kept exploring. Long story short, though your amp will change a lot with burnin, depending on tastes and previous setup, and since your standards are high, it may take some pretty serious adjustments and work to get it to sound brilliant.
So I get the disconcerting feeling you have, and can't say if you can sort it out to your standards. And our standards are so based in taste and previous experience, and gear....utterly relative, but I was able to get great sound from mine, and found it well worth it.
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