Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895
"...a mature, established product of uncommon sonic sophistication."
Convergent Audio Technology SL1 Ultimate Mk 2 Preamplifier
Price: $6950 USD; phono stage adds $1000.
Warranty: Three years parts and labor.
"Features
"The SL1 Ultimate Mk 2, like its forebears, has all-tube audio circuitry and a solid-state power supply with a built-in isolation transformer." It "uses the same five tubes in its line and optional phono stages: a matched pair of 6922s, a single 6922, and a matched pair of 12AX7s." "The SL1 Ultimate Mk 2 is a single-ended-only preamp. Ken believes that a properly designed and implemented single-ended circuit can sound better than a balanced circuit because there are fewer parts."
...
End notes
The CAT SL1 Ultimate Mk 2, perhaps this model's tenth official version, is a knockout line-stage preamp. Though its user features, if you can call them that, are throwback, the preamp's sound is thoroughly modern -- and complete. It does the big and little things with equal acuity, sounding forever real in the process. Space, bass detail, attack and decay -- the CAT preamp captured and conveyed it all amidst a corporeality that never drenched the music in excessive tonal color or squeezed the dynamic life out of it. What I appreciated most, though, was that none of these traits dominated, so the presentation lived up to Ken Stevens' goal of utter neutrality.
Once an underground darling, the latest CAT SL1 is a mature, established product of uncommon sonic sophistication. If you can live with its foibles, you'll save yourself thousands of dollars on the way to owning the heart of a first-class audio system. It's proof that the highest performance doesn't have to cost the highest price."
Full Review: SoundStage!
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