Anyone have or heard the Whest PS.20

It sure looks like a good S.S. alternative @ $2500.00
I was on the web site yesterday after reading the TAS review also.
I just helped get a friend into a Manley Steelhead and mentioned the Whest to him.
Please post results of your listening session and your friends turntable combo.

I have just auditioned a Tom Evans 'Groove' against the Whest 2.0. The outcome was a resounding disection of 'the groove' by the Whest. whilst the groove had super fast impact and simplistic wow factor, it still made the sound come out of both speakers seperately unless I turned the wick up, also it was a bit restless. Perhaps the easiest description would be that before one note ended another seemed to start. The whest was equally quick, but the bass was tighter and more tuneful, images hung mid air and in 3d. Most importantly it compelled me to play and pull out one record after another - remarkable. I'd say the Groove is a bit like a stripper who walks on stage naked and immediately proceeds to rub her breasts in your face, the whest is a dance of the seven veils that takes you on a journey but with more style and subtlety.

Couple of issues that I have with this stage. The MC gain is fixed at approx. 72db. And signal is amplified down to 5HZ, there is no subsonic filter. So if you have a cartridge that puts out above say .3mv, the gain is too high. Anyone that is using cone speakers (especially ported) with full range bass output is asking for trouble. With records that are anything less than perfectly flat or any compliance issues, you are going to have massive cone movement.

That's news to a lot of people. I for one certainly have never experienced the problem and speaking to the hifi dealers here nor have they. I know James at Whest quite well now and he has assured me that he would have had plenty of complaints about cone flap since he has sold 130 since the HiFi world review.
It could be something else in your system!?!!!
The gain issue I find is not a problem and can be set up be your dealer anyway....so that isn't really a problem! Get your dealer to to reduce the gain.
Lohanimal really summed it up in his posting... it's the dance of the seven veils. I just love it. It's so much better than the Michael Fremers review!
You can't escape it, it's an absolute audio bargain!

I bought this Whest PS.20 without listening to it after reading Michael Fremer's good review. I was going to get rid of it if its sound was mediocre.

Much to my surprise, it is a very neutral sounding phonostage. It has excellent dynamics, very good images and soundstage. Top to bottom is well balanced. Plenty of gain and ultra quiet. Definitely it is better than my CAT MK III's built in phonostage.

I also compared the Whest with Aesthetix Rhea that my friend owns. Offering a great variety of features, the Rhea sounds sweet and rich. The Whest is not dull or bright, and not rich or bland either. But yet it is lightning fast, dynamic, and extremely quiet. It is quieter than the Rhea. Its bass is a bit tighter and transient quicker than the Rhea. If you want rich sound and extra features, the Rhea will be your ticket. But at $2,600, the Whest is quite impressive. I am keeping it. Don't let the look and size of the Whest PS.20 fool you. It is a stealth performer.