Opinons on Musical Fidelity A3 cr Preamp

The A3cr is a very nice pre amp, although I would give it at least three solid weeks of audition in before making any appraisal. I bought an A3cr combo some months ago - together they make a very exciting pair. However, I wound up returning the pre for a Sonic Frontiers Line 1. With proper NOS retubing, I found the SF to deliver greater presence than the A3cr, particularly with vocals and more intimate arrangements. The Line 1 (with proper retubing - and I cannot overemphasize this) strikes a good balance between the strengths of tubed and SS preamps - dynamic, neutral and extended, yet musical. I found it at least the equal of the A3cr in range, dynamics and detail. The A3cr is nevertheless a very fine performer, particularly at its price point - very transparent, quiet and smooth. On complex recordings, the A3cr left me with the impression that it captures absolutely everything, but just not quite as elegantly or coherently as the retubed SF. I've not heard the Rogue, but did briefly consider it - I understand the 99 to have a more euphonic signature than the Joule and certainly far more so than the SF or MF - perhaps closer to the stereotypical tube sound. The Joule is really at another price point, even used. I strongly considered it as well, but felt the SF a better match in my system.

I actually owned a Line 1 for a couple of weeks, and while loving the top and the bottom, simply could not live with midrange -- with the stock Sovtek, of course. What kind of tubes are you using in your Line 1.

The Line 1 is exceedingly polite up the middle with the stock 6922s - I didn't like it either. However, there has been extensive commentary on the SF pre amps over the years and the universal theme is that these units come alive once you pull those terrible stock Sovteks. I obtained a full six tube upgrade set from Kevin Deal, including two wonderful Siemens valves, which completely transformed it. It is really just terrific now, especially in that all important midrange. You've got to retube these units to fully appreciate their potential.

Just spoke to a Sonic Frontiers dealer, who informed me that SF is about to release an SE version of all three preamps -- with Valvo tubes rather than the Sovteks, and improved parts/wiring throughout. I'm thinking that it might be worth a shot. If you had to quantify the re-tubed Line 1's performance versus the A3cr, how much "better" (in your opinion) would you estimate it to be?