A very strong second to the Placette recommendation. Absolutely fantastic! Like finally opening a slightly dirty window to breath fresh air and see the view unobstructed. Hey, they should use me for ad copy, eh? My setup doesn't conform to the requirements suggested above. My amp input impedance is only 10K. The output of the Placette is 2K which is only five times lower, as opposed to the ten times suggested above. I don't know the output of my Muse Model 2 plus dac that is doing duty as the front end, and how that might come into play, but the system works perfectly with no quirkiness at all. Raising the volume is a bit strange as the high volumes that I'd normally associate with severe distortion, do not have any apparent. The volume goes up and down as smooth as silk. In my system it is very engaging, crystal clear, and exhibits no dynamic shortcomings, nor any compromises at the extremes. Bass response is outstanding, and much better than the Cary tube pre I had been using as a pinch-hitter in this system. In other words, it has no weaknesses in my system that I can tell. Oh, also, I'm using 2 meter IC's between Placette and the amp and 2 meters between source and Placette. Length of IC is supposedly another issue to be aware of. It's a wonderful way to go if it works in your system. I'd consult with Guy at Placette if you have specific concerns (or with whatever company you choose to go with).
Marco
