This past weekend I helped my brother build an Oboe Pro preamp, and have yet another excellent experience with Hagerman kits. Initially, I wanted him to build the Bugle to add vinyl to his Jolida 302 based system, but he thought he might want the option of setting up a separate system with a non-integrated amp, so we decided to build a kit that included a linestage.
We set it up in his system to A_B between his Jolida tube cd player direct into his integrated amp and also through the Oboe. We found that once the volume was matched, it was very hard to discern the difference between direct and through the Oboe. First sign of a good pre-amp should be that it is invisible. There was no loss of detail or staging, no coloration, and we did find a gain in clarity over the direct setup on some recordings. Second sign of a good preamp is that it helps you get the most from your source. We liked what we heard, and it seems as if it will be a new central link in his system.
To increase WAF, we built it in an extruded hammond case with black anodized knobs. Pictures soon.
Matt
I might build one for myself and integrate the circuits from my Sonic Impact amp, if the power supply can take the additional load.
