VTL, CTC, Lamm, ARC, EAR, Halcro, Mark Levison

i owned the Exquisite 1D's for 4 years and have owned the Levinson #32 as well as had the Lamm L2, Aesthetix Calisto Sig. w/2 power supplies, and CTC Blowtorch in my room with the 1D's. however, i have not had the ML2.1's in my room.

i likely agree with Fmpnd that the ACT II is better than any of those others.....i have only heard the ARC Ref 3 at shows....it is quite good.

my personal recommendation is the new battery powered darTZeel preamp i have now. it is on another level from anything i have heard. if you get the chance listen to it. it includes what may be the very best phono stage i have heard.

your gear is at the very top of the heap.....it deserves the best preamp.

There will probably be no more Blowtorches, I'm afraid, due to the untimely death of Bob Crump. There may be a worthy heir to that mantle, though. If it's pure sonics and musicality you're after in a feature-free line stage, the Tom Evans Audio Design Vibe with the Pulse PSU upgrade ought to be considered. I just got a used one, and it's blowing my mind.

Dear all,
thank you for your comments, I did not know about this bad news... the CTC Builders Blowtorch was probably my first choice.
Still, ARC3 is a "no surprise" preamp and I'm looking for something very very neutral, the Lamm will give all the soul needed to the sound. This is why the ML32 is in the list...
ART II is for me a very "tube" preamp but I haven't tried it with Kharma.
I know about the Aesthetix Calisto but did not have the opportunity to listen to it. Downunder, the VTL is a fair choice as well, but not sure with ML2.1. and Exquisite, and no more dealer in Paris...
This is my biggest problem, I live in Paris (France) and there aren't that many dealers..
Mike, concerning the DartZeel, I know you have one (I looked at your great system) that replaed the Tenor Hybrid (that I almost bought buy they went bankrupt...)
I would love to hear the preamp but where ????
The other possibility would be the LyraConnoisseur 5.0 or 4.2 L... any opinion on them ?
Gliderguider, can you tell me more about the Audio Design?
Last but not least, any user of Wavac PR T1 ?
Thank you for your help.

David, Herve Delatraz (Mr. darTZeel) is in Geneva, SW. if you contact him directly i would expect something could be worked out.

www.dartzeel.com

his e-mail address is

rehve@darTZeel.com

the Connoisseur Definitions was the phono stage/pre which had most intrigued me. i had spent a few hours at shows listening to it. now that i have heard the darTZeel i don't think there is anything out there close.

in my opinion; in AC mode the darTZeel pre is a little better than anything i have heard. in battery mode it blows everything away.

it's worth a day (or two) to drive from Paris to Geneva to listen. i have another friend in Paris that also has some interest (he has the ACR Ref 3, Boulder 2008 phono stage, 5-box Esoteric digital, Rockport Sirius III tt, Rockport Hyperion speakers) so if Herve brings one to Paris let me know and i'll let my friend know.

it's one thing to hear the dart pre in an unfamiliar system. OTOH if you get it in your own system and really hear the difference it will amaze you.

good luck. if you do connect on this i would be very interested in your feedback.

If you can hear a VAC Phi 2.0, do so before you make your decision. It very impressive - great dynamics, transparency and soundstaging - it just gets out of the way of the music. Phono stage, build quality and service are second to none, IMO.