I have owned the Tempest for almost 2 years, my first analog pre. I had been using my HT controller, an AVM 20, in bypass mode prior. I just recently experimented with leaving the Tempest on 24 hrs/day. Prior to this, the Tempest was doing a good job with taming my Sony SACD player (C555ES), removing its harshness up top without sacrificing detail. Also, the mids had more body and the bass more energy than prior to owning the Tempest. The Tempest had negligible effect on my tube-based source (Pioneer universal with Dan Wright mods). Note that I also have a Stereo Stratos amp and have always left it on all the time.
After about 5 days of being on constantly (and not listening to any music in the interim), the Tempest had a different character. The general term I would use is that it made the music heavier. The highs were somewhat muted, losing noticeable clarity that otherwise comes through with my ribbon speakers. The lower frequencies seemed to have more body and weight overall, but I didn't get a good evaluation because I was distracted by the disappearance of the crispness and detail up top that I was used to and preferred. Not a comprehensive evaluation here. I could have given the Tempest more time in this mode, but I don't think I would have preferred it.
I went back to keeping the unit off when not used, turning it on a bit before a listening session and turning it off when going to bed. The Tempest returned to its original sonic characteristics, and I was back to enjoying my music.
Anyone else play around with the Tempest in this fashion and notice a difference?
Doug
