[Vinnie R.]

All,

I was just informed that Stereo Times (www.stereotimes.com) has just given out their "Most Wanted Components of 2009" Awards - and the Isabella made their list (under "Amps and Preamps"):

Damn it's hard to find a good preamp, isn't it? I should know-- I've been through like umpteen of 'em in the past few years and judging by some of the more recent a-gon threads, so have you!

Enter Isabella. Fleet of foot, compact, quiet, reliable and damnably low in coloration and seasoning, I've kept her around in preference to many a better known adversary. You're gonna change amps; you're gonna change wires- you're gonna change speakers- hell, you're an audiophile!

So you owe it to yourself for once and all to have a centerpiece- a lynchpin- a piece around which everything else can turn. That's Isabella! Walking a quivering gnats' whisker between the dark and the light, Isabella might not be all to all, but I predict she'll be more to many. I'm home. Are you?

Cool - and special thanks to D.Abramson for all his time and effort in reviewing the Isabella, and for the Award! 

All the best,

Vinnie

[pardales]

Another fine accolade. Congratulations!   

[Afterimage]

Congrats on the Stereotimes reward.   The Isabella is great and a darn good value too.

[Vinnie R.]

Thanks, guys! 

Vinnie

[Alwayswantmore]

I'm putting my Isabella through an interesting test tomorrow…

After about 30 year hiatus, about a year ago I got drafted to play drums again. I’m now in two bands and having more fun than ever. We play mostly in small halls to 150 – 200 people. We’ve also been purchasing a lot of new PA gear, including a compact QSC sub rated at 1000 watts. While I know power isn’t everything, I’ve heard it in the show room and it’s impressive just in terms of sheer power / volume.

Tomorrow the guitar player and keyboard player are coming over to calibrate the PA and give it a test run. I just spent a couple hours in my unfinished basement getting the gear in place. And 10:00 AM I plan to hookup my Isabella and Macbook to perform the original calibration of sub to mains. I figure this is about as flat and clean as we can get.

I’ve already blown these guys away with my 2-ch rig (as the guitar player said after first hearing it, “…sounds better than live” – he then broke out a $3-4K acoustic guitar and more or less reinforced his point). I’m looking forward to hearing pro audio fed by a state-of-the art consumer linestage / DAC / source. Should be a fun morning!

[Mariusz]

Congrats Vinnie on well deserved award.
If there was an award for the best costumer service, I am pretty sure it would end up in your arms as well. 

Best
Mariusz

[Alwayswantmore]

I'm putting my Isabella through an interesting test tomorrow…

After about 30 year hiatus, about a year ago I got drafted to play drums again. I’m now in two bands and having more fun than ever. We play mostly in small halls to 150 – 200 people. We’ve also been purchasing a lot of new PA gear, including a compact QSC sub rated at 1000 watts. While I know power isn’t everything, I’ve heard it in the show room and it’s impressive just in terms of sheer power / volume.

Tomorrow the guitar player and keyboard player are coming over to calibrate the PA and give it a test run. I just spent a couple hours in my unfinished basement getting the gear in place. And 10:00 AM I plan to hookup my Isabella and Macbook to perform the original calibration of sub to mains. I figure this is about as flat and clean as we can get.

I’ve already blown these guys away with my 2-ch rig (as the guitar player said after first hearing it, “…sounds better than live” – he then broke out a $3-4K acoustic guitar and more or less reinforced his point). I’m looking forward to hearing pro audio fed by a state-of-the art consumer linestage / DAC / source. Should be a fun morning!

Test done. Results were awesome. My guitar player is a pro with limited studio experience. It was fun watching him. He was thrilled with the sound. Not the same as my 2-ch rig, but fun anyway.

[Vinnie R.]

Congrats Vinnie on well deserved award.
If there was an award for the best costumer service, I am pretty sure it would end up in your arms as well. 

Best
Mariusz

Thanks, Mariusz!   


Hi Alwayswantmore,

Interesting observations, and thanks for sharing!

Vinnie

[texendo]

I'll second the customer service aspect.  I've been purchasing products from Vinnie since his company was fledgling and I was a broke-ass resident.  His level of personalized service exceeds what you would expect from a company selling far more expensive products but that is very rarely realized at much any price point.  Add that to the fact that his products are truly an exceptional value.  Unfortunately, that means I don't really long for new hardware upgrades anymore   I've had to get into vinyl to satisfy my audio escapism urges... which may come to an end as well if he'll every release that phono stage!  Thank you Vinnie for creating real value and adding a refined level of enjoyment to my life.

[Vinnie R.]

I'll second the customer service aspect.  I've been purchasing products from Vinnie since his company was fledgling and I was a broke-ass resident.  His level of personalized service exceeds what you would expect from a company selling far more expensive products but that is very rarely realized at much any price point.  Add that to the fact that his products are truly an exceptional value.  Unfortunately, that means I don't really long for new hardware upgrades anymore   I've had to get into vinyl to satisfy my audio escapism urges... which may come to an end as well if he'll every release that phono stage!  Thank you Vinnie for creating real value and adding a refined level of enjoyment to my life.

Hi Texendo,

Thank you for all your kind words - I really appreciate it and try very hard to make customer service a top priority.  I am very grateful for all my customers and always will be!

As for that phonostage, its on the "to do" list for 2010.  Can't give a precise date yet, but its on the list!

All the best,

Vinnie