DarTZeel Preamp

i guess we really do want to debate review methodology. if you want my further take on the dart pre you'll find it on my system thread when i have the time.

regarding what Honda might do. Honda spends around 2 Billion dollars and at least 4 years to develop a new model. the market expectation is likely up to 1 to 3 million units worldwide for the model run. and......they still put break-in oil in the crankcase and advise that the best gas milage won't occur until at least 5000 to 10,000 miles. it is important to be easy on the brakes for the first few 100 miles. on certain models, the RPM's need to be restricted over the first 500 miles. the seats and suspension do slightly 'breakin' over the first 500 to 1000 miles. i drive 3 to 4 new demos a year for 25 years so i'm quite expert on breakin for Hondas. so for a company that is race engineering based; clearly breakin is reality.

many times customers complain about their car because THEY DIDN'T READ THE OWNERS MANUAL OR PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THE SALESPERSON TOLD THEM ABOUT BREAKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in fact; anyone can get on the internet and post a complaint about their Honda whether they followed initial instructions or not. when a complaint finally gets to me i ask why they didn't just call us first so WE COULD HAVE EXPLAINED IT TO THEM......AGAIN.

sound familiar?

Jeff's review was not wrong, just like my customers are not wrong. but their perspective is incomplete without following all the instructions so the product will perform as it should.

next case.......

OK Mike you got me--I am totally in the dark when you say the DarT pre has "liquidity, delicacy and palpability"

I am a simple guy and have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Please explain what you mean.

Yes, it does sound familiar, Mike. That was my point.

Remember this? http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=hirez&n=200129&highlight=Esoteric+Jack+Seaton&r=&session=

Jack

Jack,

regarding how my post on the Esoteric/emmlabs comparison compares to Jeff's review;

1. my post was not a formal review, it was a one-day shootout...no more, no less.

2. full disclosure. i was very forthcoming about exactly the circumstances of what i did, down to the shelves and interconnects used.....with a picture of the setup.

3. breakin. at least i addressed the issue and said what i knew.

4. i mentioned that the gear was set up according to what the importer had told my friend. i certainly did not ignore any specific insrtuctions that were given me.

i gave any reader enough info to judge for themselves exactly whether my conclusions were valid. also, i had the comments of two other listeners included.

i did not represent my 'shootout' as the last word and even questioned whether there might be something wrong with the Esoteric gear.

Mike:
I certainly hope that nobody took your "Esoteric 5-box ----Meitner shootout-----tomorrow" as the last word, although there are those out there that take the word of a man with the funny little (R) next to it as just that, regardless if it was valid or not. It is the reviewers responsibility to provide a valid report, is it not? Isn't that in question here?

Fortunately, there are folks out there that realize that DarTZeel AND Esoteric require a long break in period and that for suitable break in period AND proper isolation (including several different coupling/decoupling attempts) are required to provide a VALID comparison or report of any kind.

And, I haven't even addressed external damping with pieces like the HRS plates or cabling (and so on) to attempt system integration.

In this case, the DC compensation switch was also ignored, which anyone with first hand experience on the earlier DarTZeel can tell you, makes a dramatic difference.

Responsible journalism. It isn't a one way street determined by what you personally own.

Best,

Jack