Dude TRL vs Red Wine Isabella vs Dodd

If you have already heard the RWA and know you like it I think you have your answer. I agree it should match up well with the Samsons.

TRL is a leap of faith but you will be rewarded. Grannyring's review of the Samson's is spot on. Also, read the review of the Dude preamp by Agear.

Being that you are in Europe makes this tougher, but FWIW TRL's customer base for their uber watt tube amps included many customers located in Japan.

I kind of remember the contents of a thread here about problems with TRL . Something about moving to another country (Italy ?) and not doing much buisness . Got to agree , his equipment has a pretty good reputation .

Just a thought .

My two cents: the TRL Dude is to die for. Yes, the TRL guys are confident and rely to some degree on word of mouth. To me, that is the ultimate indicator of performance....not neatly packaged data on a slick website. I also own Intuitive Design gear and Dale's philosophy is the same. I would engage Bill/Grannyring in regards to the Dude/Samson synergy. The sum is more than the parts....

I have owned Dodd and RWA Isabella (with DAC option).
Both great preamps and quite close in performance.
Isabella replaced Dodd due to more engaging and analogue presentation.
Its DAC options is really awesome and I would strongly advise going in that direction. Its DAC replaced my $3200 CDP (still use it tho) if it's any indication of its quality. Recently, I have purchased two Isabellina HPA DACs with variable out and remote control. These can work as stand alone digital preamps (that is how I use it).
I am having one of my DACs modified by Vinnie Rossi this Friday so its battery power supply can be shared by another component (Empirical Audio Offramp Turbo). This will keep both components off the grid for about 10h of play time.

As far as amp for Tannoy Canterbury speakers ....... I would suggest looking into Jadis tube amps. They sure do sound great together.

Regards
Mariusz

I like the idea of preamp and amp from same company so it comes down to either Red Wine or TRL.I wonder what can be better as far as amp goes,300w from TRL or 30w from Red Wine considering they will run big 15' Tannoy woofers?Pricewise they are both in the same price region when purchased used or new.