I am the lucky Berning owner who got to hear his amp in a killer system - Michael is right, the Tenors are better. The Berning is very very good, but the Tenors have more presence, more three dimensionality, more substance in the sound. The Berning is stock - no changes in tubes. Sources were Linn CD12, Marantz SACD-1, Nordost Valhalla interconects, Placette passive remote vol control, Opus MM speaker cables, ELrod pc's, Hydra conditioner, and Kharma Exquisite 1D Speakers (I think that's right). The Berning has only single ended inputs so we used Linn Silver ic's to connect it from the Placette, the only difference in set up from the Tenors. We listened to Bill Evans, Chet Baker, and a Brazilian music sampler, plus some other ensemble jazz.
My feeling is that the Berning is close enough to the Tenor that the differences would be difficult to discern unless the associated equipment was on par with the quality of the Tenors. (I would certainly like the opportunity to test that theory someday in my own system!) There is no doubt that in Mike's system the Tenors are absolutely magical - I have never heard recorded music reproduced so well. And listening to 45rpm vinyl is the best, bar none.
My feeling is that the Berning is close enough to the Tenor that the differences would be difficult to discern unless the associated equipment was on par with the quality of the Tenors. (I would certainly like the opportunity to test that theory someday in my own system!) There is no doubt that in Mike's system the Tenors are absolutely magical - I have never heard recorded music reproduced so well. And listening to 45rpm vinyl is the best, bar none.
