[Vedder323]

Hey Fellas,

Been using my LIO exclusively for the last few years and love it. Decided it was time to try something new and while I wont be ditching the LIO, its always fun to experience a piece, especially when it somehow slipped by me for many years. A lot of you guys over the years kept mentioning I REALLY needed to try a Dodd buffer or Preamp and after a recent posting of this beauty, offering the additional 3 and 6db gain, I knew it was time.



How does it sound?

Last night, I listened exclusively in passive at pretty low to moderate volumes. Right away, the most immediate and salient attribute was its addictive weight in the midband, specifically with vocal content. Something about the presentation was incredibly alluring and drew out what tubes do best which in my mind is stretching out 3d imaging, making things sound more robust and holographic. Acoustic guitars really had a snap and woody character that was certainly more emphasized than most gear I have heard and reviewed. I cant wait to get home this evening and continue my journey with this guy.

I must admit, I am frustrated I waited so long and its sad Gary is gone. It would have been nice to send him a note or review something of his when he was still with us. Yup, we lost a good one for sure, and this preamp was probably a very small fraction of his true genius.

Either way, thanks Gary. Truly, thank you.

[S Clark]

I was lucky enough to have Gary in my house years ago with his prototype battery pre.  My system wasn't much back then, but even with limited gear, the Dodd added so much clarity that I knew I had to find a way to get one- so one of the initial run of twenty went to me. It's still a cornerstone of my system.  My experience is that you'll find a bit more depth and dynamics when you use your unit active... so I suspect that you may still find that it can offer even more. 
Are there "better" preamps??  I dunno, maybe.  But the Dodd pre's are such high quality units that it makes no sense for me to chase some other latest and greatest.  I'm eager to hear more of your impressions when you've had it for a few weeks.  Congrats on your new purchase. 

[HAL]

Congratulations on the Dodd preamp! 

Still have my Dodd battery setup.  Its not going anywhere.  Very special indeed!

[Vedder323]

I spent more time listening last night. I decided to go straight to 6db on the Dodd, running into my N-cores. This preamp is the most expressive and musical sounding preamp I have ever had in my room, even edging in front of my LIO which I didn't see coming. The control and authority is unlike anything I have ever heard in my room. While there is a ton of detail retrieval, the Dodd seems to be just warm enough to take away the sharp edges and presents music in a more pleasing manner. Vocals have leveled up for sure, and sound deeper and more holographic. In fact, the entire stage has stretched out even in my small room. I am in heaven with this little box, its really so much more than a small gain - this was a far bigger step in the right direction than I ever thought a Preamp would be able to accomplish. 

[Tomy2Tone]

Well why don't you just rub it in!! 

I was eyeing that Dodd you got there when it was in the trading post but kept getting trigger shy. One of these days I hope to try one out.

So I'm guessing this is better or works for you more than say the Tortuga passive you also had at one point?

[Tyson]

I spent more time listening last night. I decided to go straight to 6db on the Dodd, running into my N-cores. This preamp is the most expressive and musical sounding preamp I have ever had in my room, even edging in front of my LIO which I didn't see coming. The control and authority is unlike anything I have ever heard in my room. While there is a ton of detail retrieval, the Dodd seems to be just warm enough to take away the sharp edges and presents music in a more pleasing manner. Vocals have leveled up for sure, and sound deeper and more holographic. In fact, the entire stage has stretched out even in my small room. I am in heaven with this little box, its really so much more than a small gain - this was a far bigger step in the right direction than I ever thought a Preamp would be able to accomplish. 

Re: removing sharp edges.  After you spend enough time with high quality tube gear, you start to realize a new truth.  And that truth is this - it's not that great tube gear removes sharp edges.  It's that other equipment adds sharp edges. 

[Vedder323]

Well why don't you just rub it in!! 

I was eyeing that Dodd you got there when it was in the trading post but kept getting trigger shy. One of these days I hope to try one out.

So I'm guessing this is better or works for you more than say the Tortuga passive you also had at one point?

Ha! Thank goodness I grabbed it!

- I really liked the Tortuga but after a lot of listening and then measuring, I noticed the top end falls off on that guy. I tried all the output impedance changes I could and no matter what, the top end would fall before it should. A nice little preamp but its not in the same league as this, without question.

[Vedder323]

Re: removing sharp edges.  After you spend enough time with high quality tube gear, you start to realize a new truth.  And that truth is this - it's not that great tube gear removes sharp edges.  It's that other equipment adds sharp edges. 

Preach it!

[gregfisk]

Re: removing sharp edges.  After you spend enough time with high quality tube gear, you start to realize a new truth.  And that truth is this - it's not that great tube gear removes sharp edges.  It's that other equipment adds sharp edges. 

You may be onto something with this thought, I've been trying to figure out why or what is different for sometime now.

Truth, what used to be clear.

[Tyson]

You may be onto something with this thought, I've been trying to figure out why or what is different for sometime now.

Truth, what used to be clear.

One of the best things about life with high quality tube gear - music that was "difficult" and hard to enjoy before, now becomes accessible.  Things like a wailing saxophone in jazz, or post modern classical music, or artists with challenging voices like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, suddenly start to make sense in ways not possible before. 

So yeah, being able to listen to your favorite music without all that edginess is nice, but the ability to radically expand your musical appreciation is the real paydirt, IME.

[rollo]

  Still have two of Garys' preamps in house. Gary was a special designer. He understood tonality and harmonic structure. He designed his gear around those parameters.
  That is why IMHO they sound so natural, unrestrained and harmonically correct. I miss Gary however in a much better place now.


charles

[Goosepond]

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Hey Vedder323, I'm sure your Dodd sounds great but OMG, it's so damn beautiful to look at. I'd buy it just to put it on a shelf and not even turn it on.

Beautiful wood face.

Gene

[SlushPuppy]

That is a beautiful preamp! I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks