Hi Springbok10, Albert and Rushton are two very meticulous audiophiles, and you can usually count on their experiences as being bonafide.
Albert's experience with the MP-1 is from ten years ago. The MP-1 of his comments was discontinued about 8 years ago (an earlier Mk. I). Ruston's is from about 4-5 years ago as mentioned earlier.
It is a common experience that we all have had is to hear a certain component and to think that that is the only way it will ever sound. But in 5 years, not to mention ten, a lot has changes in the audio world.
I do have feedback from people who have compared the Aesthetix and other top preamps to the current MP-1 if you are interested. I can put you in contact with them so they can offer their own opinions (at least two do not post to this group so far as I know- both are industry figures and probably are less foolish then me :).
Again, you will want to make your decision based on a proper comparison (there could be a lot of money at stake too). One thing that is obvious from this is that there still exists no clear means for determining how something is going to sound in your system without trying it yourself.
