DarTZeel Preamp

As I've said in another thread I've only heard the Dartzeel in few ocasions with Sonus Faber Amati, and my opinion is similar to what bmelehu wrote "soft, smooth, dynamically compressed solid state amplifier". I could had the adjectif coloured.
Was this a case of speaker-amp mismatch? I dont know but the sound did not thrill me.

My my, what a furor a few hastily chosen words can cause. It's completely true that there is no "right" or "wrong" in this hobby. There are many ways up the audio mountain. Each person who has posted to this thread has his own, and each is equally valid, IMO. My comments about Jeff Fritz's review did not paint him as an "SOB" or "disengenous," even though, in my haste, I did call his review "utterly ridiculous." I don't really feel that way, but at the time of the review, I felt that the X-2s were a hard load for the DarTZeels, and that he should have either chosen a different speaker or a different amp. My experience with the Maxx2/Dart combination did nothing to change my mind about that. But since some here are having great luck driving the X-2s with 18W Lamms, maybe I missed something. Maybe the Darts truly weren't broken in, hence the lackluster showing. I trust JTinn when he says that the Dart can drive the X-2 to ear-splitting levels. I just have to hear it for myself. As for the Fritz review, it may not have been for the reasons I cited, but his journalism DID leave a lot to be desired. See Jonathan's and Jack's comments above for a recap.

Hooper

Very Interesting

When I went through my residency in OBGYN one of my professors used to tell us that the best way to be a successful consultant is to agree with the doctors who send you patients for referral. Obviously he was talking tongue in cheek but you understand my analogy. Is Jeff Fritz falling outside the mainstream because he had the brass cajones to say what he heard?

Understand that I am merely asking a question here and obviously there will be two sides to the argument. I am neither for or against the DarTZeel quite honestly, and as I have said above, Jonathan, Mike Lavigne as well as Jeff Fritz are all friends of mine. I am in no camp but merely playing the Devil's Advocate.

I remember when Halcro amps hit the market. There was the same street buzz as there is here

If Jeff Fritz was told to break the amp in for 30 days and remove dc compensation and it was not done, this can mean only 2 things

1. There was a hidden agenda to give a poor review.

2. Pure laziness on the part of the reviewer to do the work required.

I think any sensible person would realise that the first point is very unlikely.
But this still does not excuse Soundstage's respectability as a publication, and if I was a manufacturer I would be wary of sending anything to them for review.

But then there is also the issue of the importer being at fault, why the hell don't you break the gear in yourself before sending stuff out??

It never ceases to amaze me when I read reviews where a componant improves after 200 hours of break in. Either the reviewer is lying or the distributor of the product is an idiot who is trying to cut his own throat by not presenting the product in the best possible light.

Oneobgyn:

I understand and appreciate your stance. I don't think Jeff Fritz fell outside the mainstream because he described what he heard. At first I thought that he had matched his components poorly, but I trust Jonathan and Mike when they say that an 18W amp can drive the X-2s successfully, so a 100-watter should as well. My experience with the Maxx2s led me astray, as there must have been something wrong with the Dart at that demo. Either it wasn't broken in or something else was amiss. That experience led me to conclude that the upper-end Wilsons were tough loads not ideally suited for the DarTZeel. Obviously the 6 Moons review has proved me wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. At any rate, I want to let this rest. You have a beautiful system that must give you immense pleasure and satisfaction. Mine is well different from yours, but it also gives me satisfaction. Your comments about the Halcro, BTW, are accurate, though I think the buzz was even stronger with the Halcro. IMHO, and to my ears, the Halcro generally didn't live up to the hype. Maybe the DarTZeel will. Who knows? Only time will tell. I'm a pretty happy camper right now, though, and that's all that counts to me.