[S Clark]

It's true that the buffer is definitely system dependent.  I have one that works incredibly well on a pair of 87 dB efficient sealed 2 way monitors in a small room driven by 30 tube wpc, but would not give me the dynamics needed on a pair of large line sources at 91bB in a large room driven by 200 wpc.  As always, YMMV.

[Delta Wave]

Looks like I'm down to the Doge & the Melos... perhaps a few stragglers here and there. I like the option of having balanced outs. 

[roscoeiii]

S Clark, it also looks like you aren't using a vinyl set-up, from your system description.

Your sources' outputs are going to be much much higher than a phono pre. The bigger problem isn't a question of Watts, but of gain. CD players and DACs have 2V outputs which aren't a problem for passives. Phono stages outputs are much smaller, due to the miniscule signal that is coming from the cartridge.

And I am also unconvinced that Watts would somehow restore the dynamics that passive pres lack. Once it is gone from the signal, its gone...

[doug s.]

Nice, did I read somewhere correctly that it's dual mono?

yes - true dual mono.

and, fwiw, before i settled on my ma333r (which i have owned for ~13 years now), i bought and sold a rogue 99 magnum line stage, and a cary slp98 line stage.  the melos was so much better in all areas, it wasn't even close.  ymmv about this, but it was what i found, as well as a few close buds/relatives who went thru my preamp angst w/me at the time.   

doug s.

[doug s.]

oh, one other interesting little story about my preamp adwentures - at the time, i spoke w/the owner of audio connection in verona nj; they are a dealer for rogue and audible illusions and cary.  i was discussing my preamp angst - all these were under consideration, which is why i had called them.  as i am basically a cheapskate, i also mentioned i would prefer used, and i was also considering the melos sha-gold-r, (one step below the ma333r, which i wasn't sure would fit in my budget).  well, as soon as i mentioned the melos, the guy said "buy that one; it smokes anything else at its price point by cary, rogue or a/a."  i asked him if he had any left-overs or used sha-gold-r's, and he said unfortunately not.  he said they used to carry melos before they went under, and that there was else nothing like them.  i was wery impressed that he'd be upfront w/me even tho it meant losing a possible sale.

doug s.

[Delta Wave]

oh, one other interesting little story about my preamp adwentures - at the time, i spoke w/the owner of audio connection in verona nj; they are a dealer for rogue and audible illusions and cary.  i was discussing my preamp angst - all these were under consideration, which is why i had called them.  as i am basically a cheapskate, i also mentioned i would prefer used, and i was also considering the melos sha-gold-r, (one step below the ma333r, which i wasn't sure would fit in my budget).  well, as soon as i mentioned the melos, the guy said "buy that one; it smokes anything else at its price point by cary, rogue or a/a."  i asked him if he had any left-overs or used sha-gold-r's, and he said unfortunately not.  he said they used to carry melos before they went under, and that there was else nothing like them.  i was wery impressed that he'd be upfront w/me even tho it meant losing a possible sale.

doug s.

I'm looking into it. How do you suppose it will sound with SS amps... for now?

[doug s.]

I'm looking into it. How do you suppose it will sound with SS amps... for now?

how will it sound into s/s amps?  a damn site better than any s/s preamp!     i was using s/s amps when i first purchased my melos... 

and for those who believe i am a simple tube apologist, when i started my search for a tube preamp, i was using a linn kairn pre at the time.  if i had to choose between the kairn and the rogue, it would be the kairn all the way.  if i had to choose between the kairn and the cary slp98, it would be a toss-up - both did some things well, and left some things to be desired.

the linn was exceptionally neutral, detailed, extended and accurate tonally.  the rogue was none of these, and had an overblown bloated soundstage.  the cary got soundstaging right at the expense of a slightly dark, less neutral less dynamic presentation.  the melos equaled or exceeded everything the linn did right, while adding an exceptionally dimensional soundstage, w/o being overdone like the rogue.

now, a caveat - recently, i decided to try an eva-2 remote ldr passive preamp between my melos and my amps.  my melos, as well as being true dual-mono, had a mod that went so far as to have separate wolume pots for l/r channels.  stock, there's a separate balance control and one wolume control that operates both pots.  well, nothing more fun than having a remote to control two separate pots - not the most ergonomically friendly thing - they don't track exactly.  this means i had to adjust the wolume for both pots, then fine-tune the balance by adjusting the left channel.  yes, my melos remote is set up this way.  so, wanting to keep my beloved melos, and make it more ergonomically friendly, i opted to try the (relatively inexpensive) eva-2, hoping it would do the trick, w/o exacting too much of a sonic penalty.  i'd plug it in, max out the pots on the melos, and see (hear) what happened.  lo & behold, the sound was even better!  more dynamic and more detailed; i was floored!  and my melos pre has an upgraded tube wolume pot which is ewen more transparent than the photentiometer pot - the first known implemention of ldr pots.  so, while the melos is killer, and extremely dynamic & transparent, the latest ldr wolume pots are for real, and will make it sound even better.

ymmv,

doug s.

[SteveRB]

I had the Mapletree Preamp. The amp was excellent, the build quality left a little to be desired. I would ask to supply your own chassis or an upgrade.

[MaxCast]

I have a Mapletree preamp without the phono.  I rolled some tubes through it but was not impressed until I put some Treasure tubes in it.  I have not opened it up so I can't comment about the build quality.  Outside looks fine.  It is not very heavy so heavy wires tend to make it pop a wheelie.

[Delta Wave]

I have a Mapletree input router, it's the same way. Nice guts, just a bit lacking in the chassis department.

[Delta Wave]

how will it sound into s/s amps?  a damn site better than any s/s preamp!     i was using s/s amps when i first purchased my melos... 

and for those who believe i am a simple tube apologist, when i started my search for a tube preamp, i was using a linn kairn pre at the time.  if i had to choose between the kairn and the rogue, it would be the kairn all the way.  if i had to choose between the kairn and the cary slp98, it would be a toss-up - both did some things well, and left some things to be desired.

the linn was exceptionally neutral, detailed, extended and accurate tonally.  the rogue was none of these, and had an overblown bloated soundstage.  the cary got soundstaging right at the expense of a slightly dark, less neutral less dynamic presentation.  the melos equaled or exceeded everything the linn did right, while adding an exceptionally dimensional soundstage, w/o being overdone like the rogue.

now, a caveat - recently, i decided to try an eva-2 remote ldr passive preamp between my melos and my amps.  my melos, as well as being true dual-mono, had a mod that went so far as to have separate wolume pots for l/r channels.  stock, there's a separate balance control and one wolume control that operates both pots.  well, nothing more fun than having a remote to control two separate pots - not the most ergonomically friendly thing - they don't track exactly.  this means i had to adjust the wolume for both pots, then fine-tune the balance by adjusting the left channel.  yes, my melos remote is set up this way.  so, wanting to keep my beloved melos, and make it more ergonomically friendly, i opted to try the (relatively inexpensive) eva-2, hoping it would do the trick, w/o exacting too much of a sonic penalty.  i'd plug it in, max out the pots on the melos, and see (hear) what happened.  lo & behold, the sound was even better!  more dynamic and more detailed; i was floored!  and my melos pre has an upgraded tube wolume pot which is ewen more transparent than the photentiometer pot - the first known implemention of ldr pots.  so, while the melos is killer, and extremely dynamic & transparent, the latest ldr wolume pots are for real, and will make it sound even better.

ymmv,

doug s.

My only problem with it is me not wanting to get into a quagmire of repairs and upgrades with the Melos. Especially a defunct company. I haven't read too many good things about Melos Audio Restoration, if they're even still around. I just don't want to end up with a paperweight with glowing reviews.

[doug s.]

My only problem with it is me not wanting to get into a quagmire of repairs and upgrades with the Melos. Especially a defunct company. I haven't read too many good things about Melos Audio Restoration, if they're even still around. I just don't want to end up with a paperweight with glowing reviews.

m.a.r. is defunct; its owner wil guering passed away.  but mark porzilli, the man behind melos, is going to be opening a restoration/repair/mod shop, as soon as his work on the nova physics memory 64 player slows down.  all that said, in the 13 years i have owned my preamp, the only time it went anywhere was for mods.  and, there are a few folks that know how to work on them. 

doug s.

[Delta Wave]

m.a.r. is defunct; its owner wil guering passed away.  but mark porzilli, the man behind melos, is going to be opening a restoration/repair/mod shop, as soon as his work on the nova physics memory 64 player slows down.  all that said, in the 13 years i have owned my preamp, the only time it went anywhere was for mods.  and, there are a few folks that know how to work on them. 

doug s.

I read that about Porzilli, but the last post I could find was from 2010.

[doug s.]

I read that about Porzilli, but the last post I could find was from 2010.

me too.

i still wouldn't worry about the agon piece - the seller indicates he knows how to work on these; it might be worth querying him.  and, my ma333r has given me zero issues in a lot of years...

doug s.

[Delta Wave]

I contacted him already 

[Airborn]

I have the MAD 4SE and think it is great. I agree the chassis is light and big cables don't work so well. I think the phono stage is good but not exceptional. It is about equivalent to my Cambridge Audio  640p if you are familiar with those. For the price I've never heard any better than the MAD pre for what you get once you put good tubes in.

[Delta Wave]

Looks like the Melos it is... 

[doug s.]

keep us posted re: your thoughts, when you get it up & running...

personally, i think you will be quite pleased.   

doug s.

[Delta Wave]

It will give me a chance to use my phono stage fully balanced, I even have a spiffy Van Den Hul & Neutrik balanced tonearm cable I can throw on it.

Too bad I'll be overseas for another week or so before I get to hook it up.

[Delta Wave]

keep us posted re: your thoughts, when you get it up & running...

personally, i think you will be quite pleased.   

doug s.

I have it up and running but I need a little help. Is there any way to adjust the volume level on the photentiometer board? It's a bit loud at the lowest volume. Would you happen to have a manual and/or schematic for it?

So far the sound is great but it has some crappy tubes in it. I'm waiting on a set of NOS Phillips Miniwatts to put in it before I can get a better idea of the sound. The good news is that since the Melos has balanced inputs I can use the full potential of a couple of broadcast phono preamps that I have. I have a Micro-Trak that I paid like $20 for and it sounds fantastic. I just need to make a few opamp changes and I'll have a giant-killer.