TACT digital corrections preamps?

Checking in with folks--onhwy61 and marakanetz, how's it going with the TacT?

I have the Tact 2.0 and overall I am very pleased with its performance. All the above positive comments are true. I only have two real issues with the product. First, the software is Windows based (I'm a Mac maniac) and not very intuitive. It's very powerful, but you wouldn't really know it from going through the owner's manual. Second, it's very hard to make comparisons using the bypass mode. As part of the room correction process the Tact changes the overall volume so when you hit bypass you really can't make a fair comparison.

If you have say, $10-15k invested in your equipment, then there are probably more effective ways to upgrade your system, but if you're up in the $30k plus range, then I would strongly recommend it, even if you don't think you need room correction. The positive influence on sounstage and imaging is that great.

Are you using for analog also? (I notice your system has plenty of analog front end.)

After months out of the system, I put it back in last weekend in my new house. In spite of obvious improvements, I continue to feel that I am losing some of the nuance and refinement of my system--that the TacT is adding an edge and slight hardness overall. I can hear more, and it sounds more tonally correct, but somehow the breath of life is dimished. Think I'm doing something wrong?

Despite my very high level of respect for TacT's room correction I guess I'm not convinced this is the right preamp for my tastes/system. Personally if I were going to use the TacT I'd probably use it only for room correction and continue to use my current DAC and preamp. This way I can keep the synergy and basic character I've built with my system while just adding room correction. I might also consider adding an jitter reduction device after the TacT as well since my DAC does not do this internally. Of course you need a DAC for this option, and you'd be out of luck with the new formats until a digital interface is introduced, but it is another way to go. Best of luck.

My experience matches Drubin's comments re the Tact. When I posted my experiences comparing Tact and Sigtech about 18 months ago, most other posters disagreed with my criticisms of the Tact so take your pick. I returned the Tact and kept my SigTech which I am convinced is transparent in bypass mode.