Is the BAlabo BC-1 MKII Preamp the reigning King?

Yes, Halcro is a great example of "best." I believe Stereophile sort of chickened out a bit on this declaration by putting a question mark after the "best ever" designation.

I had only a limited exposure to the amp (at audio shows) so I don't know how it sounds at its best. I know an industry insider who told me that he nearly cried from the overwhelming sense of nostalgia he felt when he heard the Halcro; it reminded his so much of the old Phase Linear 700 (this was NOT meant to be a compliment).

Anyone who would declare anything as a "best" is not credible to me unless that person is limiting the description to a personal judgment in one particular setting (personal opinion based on the particular combination of gear and particular room and particular audition material).

YES, the absolute king! I'm not just saying that because these products are produced in the County and State I live in.

In a personal conversation with an industry manufacture and distributor who regularly advertises in the audio periodicals, I would agree with Rsf507 without hesitation. It's just business, nothing more.

As long as there are LPs that will never be digitized and digitally mastered recordings that will never make it to vinyl what's the point of solid state sounding like tubes and digital sounding like LPs. Both have continued to improve to the point that I doubt that any of us could consistently tell the difference in the blind and especially when using BAlabo products. Trust me.

The Halcro stunk. From first listen. Just as many, many other "new king" components are not great (though Halcro is one of the grossest errors in memory). Yet, reviewers followed one after another, just as most audiophiles did, with collective nodding of heads.

The same thing is happening now with certain "hot products". Everyone laughs at the Halcro thing, but that scenario keeps playing itself out over and over again, and is being played out right now.
It means nothing when one big reviewer raves something (Halcro, Blabbo), they often parrot what the first guy said. It's how component reputations are often made.

There are 2 "herd mentality" masses at fault. First, most reviewers who are blinded by bling, designer dogma, pricing, appearance. They do care about being loudest and first. Not so much about being right about something coming close to real music....most don't play or go listen to music.

Then there are the audiophiles, the majority of who listen to the equipment but hear what the reviewer said, not what is being delivered to the brain by their ears.

It's largely a follower industry. An hobby of wanting to beat the friends' systems, but also of wanting to be admired for having the "right" gear. Most just do not listen.

I'm not denigrating posters of this thread, but flame if you want: flamers often are the ones who know there is a ring of truth to the statements that offend them, and that inflames them.

Kiddman, Chayro and Larryi, as usual insightful, observant and on the mark.
Every time JV and cohorts declare some latest solid state amplifier the
"best" there's the obligatory tube analogy (bridges the gap, yada

yada). I won't question their sincerity (I have no way of knowing) but I've
personally never heard any SS amplifiers that duplicates the
emotion,natural
3 dimensional sound of a good tube amp. I don't understand the the need
for
this constant comparison anyway. They're different devices and will by
nature have different presentations, both technologies have their admirers.
I just happen to prefer tubes ( especially simple circuits and lower power
implementations) and wouldn't want a tube product intended to sound like
a transistor design or I'd just buy a SS amp in the first place. What ultra
level SS amplifier will be deemed the best in the near future? We won't have
long to wait given past history. It seems like only yesterday when Soulution
was getting all the love or was it Vitus, Constellation? I've loss count.
Charles,

Kiddman writes:

It's largely a follower industry. An hobby of wanting to beat the friends' systems, but also of wanting to be admired for having the "right" gear. Most just do not listen.

Very nicely stated. We all have to be aware of these motives and fight against them colouring our participation in this glorious hobby.

Regards,