Preamps are controversial; I thought they were unnecessary & may decrease performance till a reference preamp was experienced in a familiar system. James Bongiorno’s Spread Spectrum Technology “Ambrosia” is the least costly reference preamp I know of at $7500 w/ separate MC & MM stages. Among many other accomplishments JB conceived the full dual-differential full-complementary amplifier topology employed in most modern high-end power amps. Remarkably, the Ambrosia has remote, transparent-in-use bass/treble w/ four turnover poles each. (For comparison sake, more popular preamps auditioned are the $15k Krell EVO & $17k VTL TL-7.5 Mk I.)
The team at
www.TubeResearchLabs.com did the all-solid-state upgrade to the Sony CDP. It compared well vs. the $18k Meitner two-box CDP. TRL:
Have done design work on MRI machines
Performed final troubleshooting for Intel’s Pentium IV chip
Designed output transformers for TRL’s $100k+ tube amps; TRL’s rejected transformer prototypes were later employed by a major tube amp company in their $40k “Reference” amps.
It would be sweet if someone would bring Dan Wright’s ModWright tube-modified Squeezebox Transporter, said to equal or beat the best reference CDP’s.
Bill’s Jolida Music Envoy tube monoblocs sounded like the proverbial iron-fist-in-a-velvet glove: 200W; IIRC the humongous output tube is a radio transmitter. The machined aluminum chassis are blistering beauties; I’d love two please.
Duke’s AudioKinesis Jazz Modules are my favorite floorstanding loudspeakers; sounded great at Bill’s place & at Duke’s in Idaho. The sweet spot is huge & dynamics give them a rare live sound at all levels. Persons desiring to experience the best of the high-end simply must hear these. Duke is the last to admit this but he is a rare individual: gracious, good-natured, accommodating & generous to a fault (really: both of the sum total two times I owed Duke money I paid more than the amount billed). Duke’s fantastic $9k/pr Dream Maker made the TAS 2008 Editor’s Choice list. First southern Idaho brings us “Napolean Dynamite” now waveguided high-sensitivity high-end loudspeakers! Whoodathunk?!
This exact system was a rare treat at Bill’s house a few weeks ago; I’ve seen Peter’s room & it looks like a winner. We are very fortunate Peter has opened his home for this event.
