Hello Warren, Thanks for the deal. The ST40 MKIV Signature is working perfectly well. Setup is straightforward, the tubes are thoughtfully numbered so that bias settings remain consistent from the factory, the quality of the tube set seems to be excellent, and the remote control is an excellent piece of work. A couple of minor typos in the printed manual don't detract from its well-organized thoroughness and usefulness. The sound is almost precisely as I remember it from the show, although bass clarity and midrange naturalness are far better in my den than any show hotel room. My den is a 9' x 11' room lined with books, built-in wood shelving, hardwood flooring under a 5' x 6' Persian area rug, prt of an art collection hung on some of the available wall space, and overall moderately damped. I have Diapason Micra III speakers (6 ohm) set up currently, connected to the 4 ohm taps on the ST40 running in triode mode. It all sounds terrific - a wonderful music maker. I've been listening for a few hours to bop and post-bop jazz trios and quartets as well as some piano concertos. The ST40 MKIV Signature is enormously enjoyable right out of the box. My intention over the next few days is to try Falcon Acoustics LS3/5A, Harbeth Monitor 30.1, and Totem Acoustics Signature One speakers and decide which pair sounds best with the ST40. I have only one suggestion for a minor but very useful improvement. Basically, the volume control needs a small white dot that can be easily seen. Under the dim lighting quite often preferred for music listening, one has to get quite close to see the volume control setting on the ST40, e.g., when manually turning the volume back to a normal position after making a configuration change in Standby mode and resuming listening. The small black hole on the edge of the black knob with a black fascia behind it is not readily visible. Of course, a small bit of neatly applied White-Out was easy for me to apply. Problem sorted. Mark me down as completely satisfied, and by all means pass my compliments along to David Shaw. Howard
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