DarTZeel Preamp

I do not often participate but feel compelled to do so now that the smoke seemed to clear.

1. Break in is real and will vary from component to component. My Verity Parsifal Encores sounded absolutely horrible when new. Also, I have read countless reviews where the reviewer mentioned that they ran in a component in a separate room for X amount of weeks prior to audition. If a reviewer does not have the time or facilities to insure that the product is properly auditioned (proper room, associated components, etc), then they should not be in the business of reviewing.

2. People in general may have their own agendas. It is no secret to people that have some connection to this world that money sometimes talks. Advertising dollars and $$$ in general can sometimes have an impact on a review. That is why reviews (along with a lack of respect some may have for individual reviewers), must be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, like every other profession, some reviewers are better than others.
One quick story to validate my point - At the stereophile show this year, I overheard a reviewer (not a stereophile reviewer) talking with a friend. He stated that he asked a speaker manufacturer (fairly well know but I will not mention any names) what they can do on a pair of XX model speakers. The reviewer was bragging that he got the speakers outright (a $7,000 pair) and the reviewer mentioned to his friend that he will have to write something good about the product. I overheard this story when I was helping a manufacturer break down his room.
Keep in mind that I believe that many reviews are honest ones. The problem is that the public will never know which ones they are.

3. I am a customer of Jtinn. That is because he is the most knowledgable, honest, reliable, caring person I have met in my 25+ years in audio. His customers needs come before the sale. For example, my friend was interested in the Dartzeel amp. Jtinns first question was 'Which speakers are you using? He then responded by saying that he believes the speakers are too inefficient for the amp and wound up selling him nothing.

4. I have owned various State of the art amps, and the dartzeel has exceeded my every expectation. A truely INCREDIBLE product.

And NO!!!! Jtinn did NOT put me up to writing this response.

Oneobgyn:

In reference to your first point, I do not know what changed hands regarding the dartzeel review. When I mention money, it can simply be a manufacturer giving a component to a reviewer to keep and the reviewer in turn may develop an allegience to that manufacturer. These allegiences are the problem.

Regarding your second point, the Soundstage review, if the amp was not properly broken in, then it should not be compared to anything and should not be reviewed. I read the 6 moons review and this excerpt explains my point.
"My unit was not new. It was a review sample forwarded from another industry reviewer. For this piece, it took 2.5 weeks of continuous playing in addition to whatever the previous reviewer had put on it to arrive at sonic stability. It would have been an unforgivable mistake to evaluate this amp before then.
Some components reveal their true character right out of the box and offer incremental refinements over time. Other components change character. The darTZeel belongs to the latter group. The amp starts off sounding like a nice little tube amp - sweet, fairly dimensional, with a polite bottom end - nothing to get exited about. Soundstaging at that point is average for a high-end amp - good but not world class. A few hundred hours into the process? Zowie! The authority and majesty of the low end explodes out of nowhere. What started off polite ends up powerful. A previously slightly recessed soundstage now blooms out into the room. The amp transforms from "really nice" to "holy shit!"