Which preamp Dodd or Cary slp-98L

You are right, it is my opinion and should be taken as such.
Cary is great. I thing that should put it to bed. For more on Dodd, contact other users and search the web for reviews. My ears might be different then yours .....same goes for preferances in music and gear that reproduce it. However , I am not the lone wolf with opinions regarding Dodd's performence. Does it work in my system? absolutly. Will it end your search for ultimate preamp? I don't know.
What I know......and I speake from my personal experience, is that this thing kicks butt. YMMV.

Regards

Mariusz

here's one of the guy's comments that was at the rave where the dodd and modwright were compared.

"When Mariusz arrived, he set up the Dodd preamp, RWA amp, and AAD 2001 mini-monitors. Steve and I provided el cheapo portable cd players for an all battery based system. The combo was smooth, but when the music got dynamic there was clipping. Chris brought his Butler monster of an amp and connected that to the Dodd, which solve the clipping problem. The sound just open up after that. The portable cd players did a decent job conveying the music, except for some lack of dimensionality and resolution, they were at least listenable. After Charles substituted a "real" cd player, the entire system really shine in my opinion. I heard all of the attributes that constitute a good musical system for me: proper note decay, articulation of voice and instruments, a sense of rhythm and pace, a sense of ease, a slight bit of warmth, and good tonal balance. Of course, these attributes have to be merge in combination with each other in a musical flow, otherwise, it will sound analytical to me. Anyway, I thought there was good synergy with the Dodd, Butler, and AAD 2001s. Speaking of the 2001s, I can't believe how low and clean the bass was on these mini-monitors, not to mention that I find them attractive (not in a sexual way!) Later, Chris substituted the Dodd for his Modwright preamp. The presentation change slightly, with a slightly cleaner sound. Steve remarked, that the fogg lifted, which I guess he means more transparency. He can chime in if I misinterpretated his comment. He liked that combo better, but I prefer the slightly warmer presentation of the Dodd. Different strokes for different folks. I find that ultra transaparency oftentimes introduces high frequency/treble hash, which produces grit to the sound, but I didn't hear that in this system."

I agree with last to posts......wait and listen for yourself.
I think Vinnie offers in home audition with money back guaranty for 30 days. Nothing to loose accept shipping costs.
Gary does't yet offer IHT , but hopefully he will.

As to one of the comments from the "Rave".......I agree with that statement. Modwright is very transparent and in my opinion with grained upper freq. It is true, I am very sensetive to coloration in that department. I had the same experiance with Supratek preamp. Yes, it was great......but no matter what I have tried to eliminate the edginess / grain - whatever you want to call it - it seemed to be there no matter what. I loved that preamp but had to let it go for that reason alone. Dodd is very sensetive to tube rolling and its character is very much influence by tubes you choose to pair it with. My choice were NOS Mullards and like most of you know it is a queen of middle range in 6922 family. It is not the most detail or transparent of tubes from that group and one can tweak Dodd's character by simplly swaping pair of tubes. If you want more detail use Amperex 7308 white label PQ or Amperex orange label 6922 round plate.
I like Mullard for its musicality, body, wonderful vocals as well as insrtuments articulation. Your preferances might be different from mine. All in all , it is very easy to forget that Dodd is even in the system and it doesn't draw attention to itself like some that I have own or auditioned.
Like I said , it is not "it" for everyone but at least worth a listen. But away, Gary makes only one preamp - the battery powered preamp that I am refering to.

i forgot to give a 'thank you' to Mrjstark for all the info regarding the Dodd. i am sure it is very good - - especially with the battery powerd RWA 30.2!

Nate