DarTZeel Preamp

Hello All,

I think that we all can agree that adequate break in is essential for proper analysis of any audio or video component. Many great pieces of gear require a long break in period before they give you even a hint of what to expect. It is irresponsible fo a reviewer to make any bold comments before the piece was fully broken in.

Responsible journalism begins with the understanding that certain products require adequate break in before they reach their true potential. Some reviewers may not know any better ... perhaps because they haven't the first hand exposure or maybe they have a core belief that every component should only require a little amount of time to fully break in.

Regardless, the reviewer should inquire what the normal break in period is and other pertainent info, such as the DC compensation, in this case.

It should be the reviewer's goal to do whatever possible to make the reviewed piece sound optimal ... this should include proper isolation, cabling, etc.

This speaks volumes about the reviewer in question and hopefully not about the magazine as a whole.

Respectfully,

Jack Seaton

Mike:
I certainly hope that nobody took your "Esoteric 5-box ----Meitner shootout-----tomorrow" as the last word, although there are those out there that take the word of a man with the funny little (R) next to it as just that, regardless if it was valid or not. It is the reviewers responsibility to provide a valid report, is it not? Isn't that in question here?

Fortunately, there are folks out there that realize that DarTZeel AND Esoteric require a long break in period and that for suitable break in period AND proper isolation (including several different coupling/decoupling attempts) are required to provide a VALID comparison or report of any kind.

And, I haven't even addressed external damping with pieces like the HRS plates or cabling (and so on) to attempt system integration.

In this case, the DC compensation switch was also ignored, which anyone with first hand experience on the earlier DarTZeel can tell you, makes a dramatic difference.

Responsible journalism. It isn't a one way street determined by what you personally own.

Best,

Jack

Yes, it does sound familiar, Mike. That was my point.

Remember this? http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=hirez&n=200129&highlight=Esoteric+Jack+Seaton&r=&session=

Jack