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Phono preamps that are extremely excellent
Every REALLY good phono pre I have heard has been a simple, homebrew
affair tweaked around a specific cartridge and most were, if solid state, battery powered. The tube ones had AC supplies but often ran off factory built LAB supplies left intact and unmolested, with additional filtering added in some cases. Some of these rigs looked like the sardine cans Meat Loaf rigged up to Alice Cooper's PA in the forgettable movie "Roadie". The most expensive Mark Levinson, Jeff Rowland, ARC, conrad johnson, or Krell products i have heard often worked perfectly well but NONE have done what these simple homebrews did. None got to that first tier level. Now, a lot of the homebrews sucked **** through a straw, and a lot were merely adequate, and some were quite good, but not magnificent. But more than one or two have achieved the highest level of quality, soundwise. They were also a pain in the ass to live with, to be sure. They lacked the convenience and idiotproofing features commercial goods require to be merchantable, and they mostly looked like crap too. But they really did what so many multi-thousand dollar products have aspired to but never quite did. There are several lessons in there. The situation is analogous to a well made garage race car vs. a really expensive prestiege sports car. The race car has little slicknness and is built like something you'd build in a garage, a modern Lambo or Ferrari is perfect and magnificently detailed. But the race car will WIN RACES and the exotics won't, not without factory support and a fleet of 18 wheel transports to haul it, and an unlimited budget. The expensive cars and stereo gear are not really sold for or intended to WIN THE RACE, they are sold to convey to their purchasers that you _could_ win the race, and to make observers of their purchasers think they are Big Winners with Big Wallets and Big Dicks. It shouldn't be that way, you may say, and you could be right. But it is that way. |
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