While I do realize that this thread is about 10 years old, I would like to add something should anyone still be interested in one of Nelson's older preamps, and they should be for these preamps are a true high end bargain. Having owned over 20 different preamps from many different companies (Rogue, deHavilland, VTL, Cary, Allnic, ARC and others) the Audio Experience can certainly compete unless one is an audio snob. My Audio Experience throws one of the largest soundstages I have ever experienced, great recordings sound great, and garbage sounds like...garbage. This preamp does not color but it does require good tubes. One does not have to go NOS as recent manufactured tubes (TungSol re-issues come to mind) work well but there is one thing I would highly recommend and it this: swap out the 5687 tube for an Amperex or similar 7119 tube and be prepared to be stunned to the hilt! For a mere $80 or so, this "upgrade" makes the preamp perform like you added another $1000 to it in some way. I have never experienced such a drastic performance change in a piece of equipment with just a change of two tubes.