"Enjoy music, tolerate equipment." I wish I'd said that, and I may.
Thanks to Nick for stepping in. Looks like we blew his cover, but this looks like a good development ...
- for Nick, since it will free the time he spends handling inquiries to focus on equipment building and design. He has other products in the pipeline. Our amp is a Nick Doshi prototype and it's the finest we've heard below at least $10K, yet it cost us oodles less. (Hugs self.)
- for Larry Marcus, of whom Nick has always spoken most highly. Now he can show his customers the best preamp he knows, not just the best that's commercially available.
Of course they may have a long wait. The Alaap queue may grow to Schroeder-like proportions.
- for potential owners, who'll have a ready source of product info. There may even be demo units, though Larry will have to be careful. No "demo" that Nick sends out ever comes back. That happened three times last year. Larry's not the only Alaap thief!
There should be no quality degradation. Nick plans to keep making each unit himself. Production will be limited by his artistic soldering skills and the patience of his lovely wife and precocious daughters.
Paul and I feel honored to own one of the early Alaaps. Ours is s/n 11, one of only 12 built in 2005. Like Mr. Marcus and others, we know this is the finest component we own. As Dan_Ed can attest, it is also quite a bargain.
Enjoy music, tolerate equipment!
Doug