Loudandclear,
I did audition the I-6.2. This was along with Pascal Ravach, (Mutine distributor of Audiomat and Vecteur products) at his place. I really dug the music - played jazz and rock mostly. This was the first SS amp I heard that makes music first. I was also struck by the amount of depth, decay, reverberance and ambiance it unearthed. There are other audiophile qualities, but none of these are thrust at you. The Vecteur L4.2 and I6.2 uncovered detail that I didn't even think existed. But this combination is primarily about music making and then about various audiophile attributes. When I listened, there was a "rightness" about the music, that's hard to describe. You know it when you hear it. It would have been the perfect partner for my B&W Nautilus 803s. (I heard it with the N805s).
And then I made the biggest blunder of all ;-)
I listened to the Audiomats. The Arpege's bass control was not enough for my speakers. So in spite of Pascal's warnings, I listened to the Prelude. Voila! Everything about the Vecteur was there - only better, hard as that was to imagine - the synergy was about the best I have heard. I drove back from Montreal pretty late that night, but I had the music playing in my head the whole time.
I don't care much for reviews unless I can substantiate what I read by actual listening, but UHF is, for the most part, right about these amps - I was able to substantiate this with my auditions. In the end, your other audio equipment and listening room will dictate what's right. If you need a SS amp, go with the Vecteur. But if your system could use a tubed amp, the Prelude is very much the ticket.
Atleast, it is the ticket to musical enjoyment/heaven in my system.
Last but not the least, Pascal was extremely generous with his time and help in getting my system worked out.
