Well, with the first Q I built, I remember that sound in general was waaay cleaner to my ears. No explanation. Remember, that Q had the PJCCS upgrade. This one was going to have that upgrade, but I got sidetracked and went with the chokes. Let me back up a bit and say that integrated is a very neutral sounding amp to my ears, so these changes are easy to hear. Ok, fast forward to choking the Q. With this arrangement, the sound is warmer, pretty much tubey all the way. Of course, I never rest, even when it is best. That means I have found a new step up tranny for my Cayin CD22, which has tubed output. Yup another change. Haven't had time to evaluate yet. One last thing, the Q is now used for switching between the Yamaha SACD player and the Cayin(can you say shoot out?). Moor to follllow. Remember, you started it...