Achieving Preamp nirvana with a SF Line 3?


I am contemplating the purchase of a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 preamp. It will replace an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A in a system that has NHT 3.3 speakers, Moscode 300 Maxi amp (mods) JPS SC2/NC cabling, Muse 9 Signature DVD/CD. I am planning on selling my VPI 19 MKIII with ETII arm and will return to vinyl in the future so a phono section isn�t the most important issue.

My quest of course is �perfect sound� (that is a mouth full) which will never happen as long as we all have opinions. From what I have read this preamp has tons of engineering and experience rolled into it and could possibly by virtue of it�s design and build yield pure sound with virtually no self inflicted opinion of its own. It, from my studies, does not have a tube signature or SS but is vanishing. My worries are that this particular preamp could exhibit a sterile cleansed sound chalk full of detail bombarding me in a lifeless presentation.

Any experiences to help? Any comparisons by Gon members? I�m in AZ and there isn�t much I can do as far as me playing around and comparing. I have also considered a Belles 21A (Aura caps?) , Belles Soloist 3, and CAT . If I go Belles I will also purchase two 150A Ref amps to bridge. Thoughts?
jothompson

Showing 1 response by rouvin

"... does not have a tube signature or SS but is vanishing."

Buy some issues of Stereophile or Absolute Sound from the 1970's, or 1980's, or 1990's. "No signature" of its own (or something intended to mean this)appears again and again on many different types components. I'm sure that almost all of the designers wanted to achieve this, but we're not there yet.

Use your own judgment.

Rouvin