[Brad]

Trigger time, finally.

Just got off the phone with Dr. Lloyd.
Decided on the red (I let the 5 yr old make the final choice   ) since I really liked all of the available colors.

Alps Blue pot also added.

Look for initial impressions here in about 3 weeks.  
Apparently, the word is out and Dr. Lloyd is a little busy right now.
The Ultra should arrive about when my Fi X gets here.

I have to comment on how pleasant and informative he was, both on the phone and through email.

[JoshK]

Yeah I thought he was quite nice a well.  I am really happy with my line preamp.  I think it sounds great and does exactly what I need it to do and no more, and the price is right.  What gain option did you order? The Ultra has the phono right?  I'd be interested to hear how good the phono is.  Congrats,
Josh

[Marbles]

Trigger time, finally.

Just got off the phone with Dr. Lloyd.
Decided on the red (I let the 5 yr old make the final choice   ) since I really liked all of the available colors.

 

I've always been amazed at how well my kids thought process was

[Brad]

I just went with the standard 10db gain.

I'm going to try both the RCA & Fivre 12sn7's.
Having a new tube preamp and amp should make gift shopping easier for the family.......NOS 12sx7gt's, NOS 45's, NOS 2a3's, Sovtek 2a3's, 6922 input tubes, rectifier tubes...  

[akshobhyavajra]

The Ultra has the phono right?  I'd be interested to hear how good the phono is.

The phono stage in the Ultra is surprising for an inexpensive stage in a moderately priced preamp.  It has decent detail and instrument layering, though a bit veiled compared to the Monolithic (not really a fair comparison).  However - what it lacks in detail it makes up in overall tonality and warmth.  Even though it is a tad noisy this is not very noticable when the music is playing.  It's a really nice value for the money - IMO - superior to the KAB PH-1 - which it replaced in my secondary system.

Regards,

~Michael~