Have you tried the ART SLA-1 amp yet?

Wow, I checked out the Audiocircle and AA threads, and all I have to say is to ALWAYS go with your first impression.

I am not sure if anyone remembers, but in the initial thread, here comes D911(Don) in out of nowhere, blowing the horn of a product no one has ever heard of. Saying it's the best he's ever come across, and he has owned some really high priced gear.

I could smell this guy a mile away.

So what do I do? Ask him who he is, and what his affiliation to the product is. No, he did not say he was involved, but after my query, he did come clean. He seemed like a nice enough guy, so I gave him the old, you should have been forthright, but we should all move on kind of thing.

Again, ALWAYS go with your first impression.

And, never forget one of my favorite sayings, "If you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas!"

As always, CAVEAT EMPTOR, and let's be careful out here,
Joe

C'mon you guys-Don Nance just scored the biggest piece of free advertising that I've seen in a long time on the audio boards. When's the last time you saw a sockpuppet's posts generate so much interest in a product? The guy's no dummy, give him that, and it's all pretty dang entertaining in the end.

It is only entertaining if you don't loose money getting suckered. Sean
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If I want entertainment I'll see a show or listen to music not throw money into things that are not worthy of endorsement!

Guys, I'll admit I am in a bit of a quandary, and I am probably not the only one. The right place at the right time might well turn out to be the wrong place at the wrong time. Be that as it may, I am now owner of this amp and am letting it break in a few days before doing a head to head with my reference.

Now here is the quandary. I think it is clear by now that D911, at minimum, made some poor choices in bringing this amp and his mod business to our attention. I cannot disagree nor am I inclined to disagree with any of the negative remarks made about his tactics, and I plead guilty not only to a certain amount of gullibility, but to perpetuating his advertising with this post. Guilty as charged.

However, there is another issue: the amp. Is it any good or not? Is it a real bargain? How does it stack up to the big boys? How can one evaluate it fairly and post results for the benefit of others without helping D911's cause, unless it turns out to be a real turkey? The worthiness of the amp, it seems to me, is a separate issue from D911's credibility. The real question is whether any objective discussion can ever take place about its relative merits, now that the well has been poisoned. Anything positive anyone has to say will have stink all over it. We've already been branded as fools for buying it. Imagine what would happen if we liked it. And liking it, of course, would promote D911's business further.

D911, you sure have made a mess of things, haven't you?