Interesting that you have the First Sound Pr. Dlxe Mk II pre-amp because a friend of mine who has the Berning ZH-270 brought it to my house a couple of weeks ago (and had done so before as well), and we had a great listening session in my system with a First Sound Pr. Dlxe 4.0 (two pwr supplies). We loved the sound of the Berning amp with or with out the First Sound, but on both occasions, we agreed that the Berning sounded better WITH the First Sound in the signal path and the Berning's volume pots turned up all the way.
I am going to put my friend who owns the Berning onto the wiring upgrade. He will probably appreciate the improvement.
On a side note, partly because of the way the First Sound pre' worked so well in that listening session, I went ahead with a new upgrade that Emmanuel Go (at First Sound) now offers called the Paramount Plus. I guess it's a step above the Paramount Upgrade but a step below the full-on Paramount MkII Model. I've had the upgraded pre back for a week, and what an improvement: transparency, air, dynamics, lower noise floor, the musical intent seems to be communicated more easily, etc. Well worth the cost--in case anybody is curious about this one.
Nice combo, the First Sound and Berning.
I am going to put my friend who owns the Berning onto the wiring upgrade. He will probably appreciate the improvement.
On a side note, partly because of the way the First Sound pre' worked so well in that listening session, I went ahead with a new upgrade that Emmanuel Go (at First Sound) now offers called the Paramount Plus. I guess it's a step above the Paramount Upgrade but a step below the full-on Paramount MkII Model. I've had the upgraded pre back for a week, and what an improvement: transparency, air, dynamics, lower noise floor, the musical intent seems to be communicated more easily, etc. Well worth the cost--in case anybody is curious about this one.
Nice combo, the First Sound and Berning.