Preamp Deal of the Century

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Brian,
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It is great to hear you sound so happy with your system. I agree that the 350B is the end of the path and as good as it gets.
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When you are in the mood and in a position, try to get a listen to a ZYX UNIverse. It is just stunning beyond explanation. The Ebony is a terrific cartridge, but the UNIverse is just Manna from Heaven.
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Rgds,
Larry
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Bwhite, I see you are heavily into vinyl. Could you comment on how the Cortese phono stage might compare with other elite stages? Also, could you share any experiences between the Cortese and Chenin in particular the phono stages? As you can tell .. I am sitting on the fence at this point.

Hi Larry, I thought about trying the UNIverse and discussed with SORAsound but...I was scared it was going to be too bright. Especially after hearing a Koetsu Onyx Platinum. My table is a bit forward sounding in the upper mids & this is apparently why the Benz is the cartridge of choice for the table.

Heck.. I may still try the UNIverse

Pkaram, the best phono stage I've listened to was my Aesthetix IO Signature DIRECT to an amp... WITHOUT ANY VOLUME CONTRL IN BETWEEN. It was insane! I set the jumpers to 60db gain and let her rip!

The purity of the sound was remarkable but the experience left me very confused.

I compared an Aesthetix direct vs. Aesthetix through a Supratek Chardonnay & it was amazing to hear how much the Supratek tarnished the sound. Sorry to say.

So I tried a passive Placette and it was even worse...it sounded like garbage to be honest. Compressed, ZERO dynamics, flat, dull and lifeless.

The Supratek was definitely better than the Placette for whatever reason.

I ended up selling the Aesthetix because I couldn't find a volume control which satisfied me. Even the Aesthetix built in volume control compressed dynamics to some extent.

That's when I purchased a Cortese and I've been using it ever since. One day I'm going to take the Cortese to an engineer and have the DACT volume control as well as a few other "streamlining" mods completed. Hopefully that will kick up the purity of the Cortese.

But.. to this day, nothing compares to the Aesthetix direct. What an experience!

Brian,

You will be shocked after you get about 50-75 hours on the DACT. The transparency will take a huge leap. But with that comes the downside...exposing weaknesses elsewhere if you have any.

And I agree. After trying GEC KT66's about a month (I think) after receiving my Chardonnay, I made the leap immediately to WE 350B's. No comparison. I know they are expensive, but if you can't run with the big dogs, ya may as well stay on the porch.