Experience with Raul's Essential 3150

Gregadd, pardon me, didn't mean to hit a nerve. Just noticed Albert Porter had Lloyd's table; there were a few other phono stages mentioned; and I was hoping to hear some more familiar reference points for those of us who haven't had the pleasure of a visit from Raul.

Piedpiper- no ofense taken.I too was not aware of "Rauls North American Tour." It is unlikley that I am in the market for $10k preamp. Although upon hearing it I could be so impressed that I would have to start saving my pennies. The audio market has changed so much that I rarely get a chance to give any product a long term audition.
As well meaning as Raul is he chose to visit those whose opinion is most trusted here on audiogon. I don't blame him.

Sorry Greg and others, the reason I don't mention Lloyds phono is because I had it in my system twice and do not like it. Perhaps It's because my cartridge is .2MV output and Lloyds phono is 22 DB less gain than my Io.

Perhaps It because its transistor and I prefer tubes. I hate saying anything negative about Walker products because I love my turntable and the Walker HDL's beyond belief.

I don't think it's possible for any high end company to make a group of products that are accepted across the board. Many companies make products that I like and yet other things in their line do not appeal to me. I think this is true for everyone at Audiogon, at least it appears that way with the diversity of product we choose to power our music.

The Essential is transistor and very clean, it has sufficient gain, meaning I could live with it (on that judgement only) and for that reason, if forced to choose between the Walker phono and the Essential, I would go with the Essential.

Right now I have no intention of moving from Aesthetix. I'm not certain any product made anywhere can move me from Aesthetix, but I am willing to listen again, and to all products that qualify to do the job.

At this very moment, with no other experience to draw on (I would NEVER make a decision that way!) If forced to move from my two Aesthetix pieces I would look at the Lamm phono and the Audio Research REF series.

That is just talk, not a valid comment on what is or what should be. I am extremely slow to change reference pieces. I prefer to work on reducing the flaws that exist (with my and all systems) and get the most of what is already there. As I have mentioned before, there is more excellent equipment available today than at any time in the history of audio.

I have no doubt Raul will find buyers that will crown the 3150 as "the" reference piece in their system with no consideration for replacing it with anything made. It's certainly good enough to qualify for that, especially for those that want solid state and compare the 10K (current) price with Boulder and other mega pieces and what they command in the market.

Thanks Albert for your thoughtful and compassionate input on my question. As is often the case, especially with those products "good enough to qualify for that", it is a matter of taste what a person chooses for ones own. With that said, there is still much room and relevance for "objective" observations of the contenders. With all due respect to Raul, HP and the "Absolute Sound" as reference, as well as Raul's good taste in not wanting to denegrade other's work, we are in the position of choosing between components, not between a component and the live event. Thusly, I AM interested in comparisons between reference pieces so as to know what flavors of ice cream are available, within context of course. Many upper eschelon designers claim "no signature." In fact, Lloyd's PS is a version of the AHT "Nonsignature" PS. IMHO this is not an option, although something to aspire to. It is still subject to the designer's perception of what that is, not to mention his ability to achieve it.

Re: Lloyd's phono stage in the context of Albert's system and taste, I feel it is possible and helpful to make useful observations, without denegrating Lloyd's work. Thank you Albert for tiptoing across the safety barriers.

I'm sure I'm simply speaking out the subtext that at least some of the participants in this discourse are fully aware. Pragmatist that I am, I hope my input is of some use to some of our readers.

BTW, I'm also interested in perspective on the new Wavestream Kinetics PS that has gotten some recent attention here. Evidently, the Analogue Room has replaced their Aesthetix Io with it as their reference.

BTW, I'm also interested in perspective on the new Wavestream Kinetics PS that has gotten some recent attention here. Evidently, the Analogue Room has replaced their Aesthetix Io with it as their reference.

I have not heard that piece but have high respect for the Wavestream Kinetics V8 amp.

This years CES roster has Wavestream confirmed as a exhibitor. I was planning on stopping by and speaking with them anyway, now I will look for preamp and phono pieces as well.

That being said, there are many reasons stores change their loyalty, and sonic excellence is not always the motive.

I will be in the Bay Area shortly and plan on stopping in on the Analogue Room.

Evidently one of the owners is also part owner of Wavestream...

Dear Gregadd: " As well meaning as Raul is he chose to visit those whose opinion is most trusted here on audiogon. I don't blame him. "

The fact was that I choose to make a personal delivery with the Matt Essential who lives in Austin, TX, then I ask to other AG people that live in TX and visit them.
In the case of Andrew, Dan and Doug/Paul I never imagine to visit them I accept their invitation and that's it.

Anyway, " I would have to start saving my pennies " , you can do it : don't stop.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Pied...Brian Hartsell is the owner of The Analog Room which has been the home for Scott Frankland's Wavestream for some time now. The V8 monos have, for a very long time, been a dominating presence in one of the listening rooms. You will enjoy listening to the phono piece to which you refer. I do not think that rotation or current placement of the Wavestream as a "reference" system component in any way translates to a reduced appreciation on Brian's part for the Aesthetix gear.

Enjoy your stay in the Bay Area.

Thanx yanx! just repeating what I'd heard (a risky business at best) re: the Io/Wavestream reference.

Definitely looking forward to soaking up the warm wet West Coast Winter weather, and the tunes, both live and otherwise.

Dear Piedpiper: " cartridge floating ": pin 1 disconnected.

Regards and enjoy the music.
raul.

Dear friends: I already receive several e-mails asking for my opinion about other Phonolinepreamps out there and specially some of the ones that I had the opportunity to " meet " during the Essential 3150 roudtrip.

Like I posted somewhere the " objective/target " to visit all the AG people during my trip was not to challenge their Phonolipreamps but to know a different alternative, that's why ( with any of them ) we heard through the Essential 3150 with out come back to their Phonolinepreamp to make a
shoot-out/down.

Anyway, we have ( any people ) universal information ( through web sites, audio magazines and AG forum )about several Phonolinepreamps combinations ( including the Essential 3150 ). All these information is not " top secret ": is totally disclose, for example if we take the top of the top Aesthetix models ( the six chasis unit ) we can read this on the Phono unit ( alone ):

- that the signal goes through four stages and then through additional cables to the Aesthethix line preamp. This means six stages where the signal must pass.

- that the inverse RIAA eq. deviation between 20 to 20kHz is +,- 0.25 db, this means a swing of 0.5 db. ( the RIAA deviation means that the deviation in a precise frequency does not only affect that single frequency, because the RIAA is a curve, but almost three frequency octaves!!!!! ).

- signal to noise ratio: 70 db.

- output impedance 300/600: RCA/XLR ( the output impedance is of high importance because a figure like this tell us that the signal could loose its original integrity ).

- the Aesthethix are coupled through capacitors/transformers. This means that those units are not direct coupled and that the signal pass through capacitors/transformers.

- these designs are not fully balanced, its first stage ( the most important one ) is unbalanced ( the balance design has many advantages and one of them is that in a true fully balanced design the distortions/noise are cancelled ).

- I can't find any figure for distortion. I can't understand why is that.

Now, we can take info about any phonolinepreamp out there. If you want the Essential 3150:

- the signal goes through two stages and does not needs additional cables/connector because the Essential is an integral unit.

- its inverse RIAA eq. deviation from 20 to 20kHZ is: 0.015db. As a fact the Matthew unit goes with 0.009db.

- signal to noise ratio over 80db.

- output impedance: 75/150 Ohms

- direct coupled. The signal does not pass through any single capacitor/transformer.

- fully balanced input to output.

- distortion: 0.0002%

- frequency response: 0.01 to 1 Mhz.

These are only some subjects about differences ( facts ) in those two differnt unit but there are many other subjects and differences in both designs.

I reserve my opinion about the Essential 3150 quality sound reproduction against not only the Aesthethix one but about any other phonolinepreamp. This not belongs to my targets and I'm not the right person to do it because the Essential 3150 is an important part in the José and my life and we could have some bias in favor of the Essential 3150.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

My psychic mind tells me Albert Porter had a serious reality check...

Don't worry Albert, I'm sure Raoul will give you an *amigo* deal on the preamp!

Raoul, I'm happy for you...really.

First of all, Raul wanted me to listen to the Essential, not do a comparison between it and my Aesthetix.

We disconnected both of the Aesthetix units and set up the Essential before our listening session.

Aesthetix has been my reference for 7 years, Raul wanted the 3150 plus the rest of my system, so we were both OK with skipping the Aesthetix intro.

I judge only with my ears, not the numbers. The Essential is an excellent preamp-phono and although the specifications are impressive, that says nothing more about it's sound than the specifications of a Yamaha integrated or Boulder phono (both of these, typically a decimal point followed by multiple zeros as a distortion spec).

My psychic mind tells me Albert Porter had a serious reality check...

Psychicanimal, if that happened, I didn't realize it. Thanks for the update.

I hope to listen to the Essential again. Raul and I discussed that possibility and I offered to do some product photography as Raul has no professional images. At that time I could listen longer and in a relaxed mode and maybe even write a review at Positive Feedback. I can listen to a piece like this and rave about its merit, regardless if it qualifies as a replacement for my Aesthetix or not.

I think anyone who's read much of what I post here, I rave about Vandersteen, Kharma, Maggies, Quads, Avalon, Dynaudio, Martin Design and Evolution Audio (to name just a few). Does this mean I plan on selling my Dali Megalines and move to another speaker? .......No.

All those brands are superb designs but none of these speakers are necessarily better in EVERY area than every other one on the list. Each has major strengths and a little weakness and each represents a particular designers shot at perfection. There simply are NO perfect pieces in audio, not my Dali's, not the Aesthetix, not any brand spoken of in these forums.

However, I am not surprised when someone claims one of these as "best," or at least the best they've ever heard.

Not surprising, as they are all within the top tier.

As for Raul:

I reserve my opinion about the Essential 3150 quality sound reproduction against not only the Aesthetix one but about any other phono-line-preamp. This not belongs to my targets and I'm not the right person to do it because the Essential 3150 is an important part in the José and my life and we could have some bias in favor of the Essential 3150.

I would hope Raul would have a bias for the Essential, it's a project he is passionately involved in and the end result is a beautifully designed and built unit that I think will find great success.

There will also be people who prefer EAR, CAT, BAT, Aesthetix or ARC simply because these tube designs perform so differently than transistors. That is part and parcel of the high end business and neither confirms nor denies Raul's passion or the value of the Essential.

I look forward to another session with it, hope that happens as we discussed.

Albert- Well said. In fact, almost perfectly said. There is, of course, no perfect piece of audio writing, just as there is no perfect piece of gear. Of course, everything that I have read so far makes me regret even more, my inability to accept Doug's invitation to hear the essential. What a cool thing for Raul to have done and also very cool for the hosts, too. I'm waiting for his next trip to CT w/the 3150 Mark 2 ;~)

Dear Albert: Well done. Yes, the numbers tell not enough about quality performance but in a good thinking design help to confirm and understand that quality performance.

The Aesthethix has several audio values like: active high gain all tube phono stage with out using step-up transformers or FETS.
I heard the very low output Jade with out noise in your system!!!

Yes, I will take care to things happen like we already discussed at your place.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Swampwalker: Essential 3150 MK2 version?, I don't think so at least not in the near future.

Please let José and me enjoy what we have today!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Perhaps Raoul & Tekunda are cousins...perhaps.

Have you compared with fm acoustics raul?

Dear Albert: +++++ " I offered to do some product photography as Raul has no professional images. " +++++

Thx in advance, we appreciate that.

regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I visited Raul this week to listen to the latest version of the Essential preamp.
When we got there he was playing the Dynavector XV1 cartridge through a SAEC arm.
The first impression was of clarity, everything seemed very transparent airy highs well defined bass all was there but I little bit more cohesive than I remember from my prior visits, the sound was better integrated.
Raul was, as always, a very good host, and very knowledgeable. He is the most driven Audio fanatic I have met and it is good to talk about audio with someone so passionate about it. We also discussed about the local Concert season and the best Directors.
After some listening I noticed that the system was a bit more mellow than it used to be, while still vibrant there is no listeners fatigue, we played a lot of Jazz (Duke Ellington and crowd) and the music was just alive, but still warm. We asked him to switch to the Van den Hull Colibri (his secret favorite) cartridge and he explained he got it set up in a Sumiko arm he had stored for some years and when he tried it he loved the combination it does with the Colibri. What impressed me the most about the preamp is we never talked about it after the first conversation of his recent trip. I remembered the preamp when the first notes from the Colibri started to flow, it was like switching from CD to Vinyl, Lou Armstrong´s voice had amazing detail I could see his mouth move, we could feel his chest resonate and all the instruments came into the room. This being said it did sound a little thin with Holst´s Planets.
This is how you notice if the preamp is doing its job, it lets the signal go through whatever you feed into it, he did inform us when we arrived that he was still setting up the VTA on the Dynavector cartridge, but the brilliance and liveliness of the Colibri are its trademarks. We then started talking about the preamp and he told us of the endless listening test he has run comparing the preamp to a resistor load until sound wise you could not tell one from the other, he also run a lot of comparison tests with most reference phono preamps and I can vouch for his access to them, (yes FM acoustics was on the list). Another friend who is a tube preamp designer had a technical conversation with him that ended with talk about subwoofer integration; he later told me how impressed he was with the current design. I asked him if he would make a bigger version with double power supplies but it is not on the drawing board.

Congratulations Raul!

PS: I am not connected to the company in any way.

Hi Raul- Sorry I missed you in CT. Maybe my ;~) doesn't translate too well. Just joking. Trip 2, not Mark 2 perhaps more likely. I just would have loved to hear it!!! But as much as we love our music and our gear (c'mon, admit that the toys are fun to play with) my family comes first and we had had an important trip planned for some time. Anyways, if I have to wait years for the Mark 2, I'd still love to hear it.

I have know Raul for some time and have always considered him as the person to go whenever I had a problem or wanted questions answered about analog systems.
I have heard in the past Raul system and have always considered it as a very good one but without that “thing” that made it something extraordinary or special.
I listen at home on a Dynavector VX1 plus a Halcro DM10 plus a Pass like class A Amp coupled to ORIS horns with AER’s . I love my system and after listened to many other systems I found it very difficult to contemplate changing anything in my gear.
I must say the the HALCRO made a large change when it was connected in the chain.

Well now comes the story

I went to Raul’s house to talk about some mods in my turntable cables and after our conversation he told if I wanted to hear his new preamp.

I was in a hurry and tried to escape but he was insistent and I could not go.

He had changed his preamplifier and explained to me that he had finally finished his project after some years work.

The preamp looked good.

As I have said I was in a hurry and had to leave.

After 5 hours listening to all kind of music I still was not ready to go.

What I heard was the BEST system in my life. And having been a hi-end audio distributor in Mexico in the past, I have heard a LOT.

The music coming from the stage was pure, real and with an air that I could swear it was there. The feeling of intimacy and the sheer reality of instruments, voices and spatial correctness was amazing.

I had to do it. We took ( I forgot all my hurries) the preamp to my house to try it because I was (hoping) that it will do nothing better than my Halcro and what I was hearing was just a lucky ( a very, very lucky) marriage of elements in Raul’s system.

Sorry to say ( because now I am 10K$ poorer than before) that the change was monumental. All I heard before in my system improved so much that I was amazed to say the least. Everything I liked in my system was increased many times and the music became just that MUSIC. I am getting the Essential in a few weeks.

If you have a good analog system please try the Essential . You will find it will be worth the try.

Guillermo Conde

Gconde and fellow Audiogoners:
I was also at Raul,s place 3 days ago, this was my second visit to him being last time 2 years ago. I definetly heard an improvment in his new preamp from his previous battery power supply prototype. As mentioned above yes i agree is more transparent and without brightness, its just an open window. While i don,t want to go on and on with reviewer type of adjectives that have been mentioned before i do want to mention that i was also extremly impressed with its MM phono section. When I asked Raul about vintage vs new cartridges. He imediatly put another arm on the same record (Clark Terry) with a vintage MM cartridge(can,t remember the model). I couldn,t believe how musical and correct it was sounding even compared to the top of the line Dynavector we were hearing before. He told me that while new MC,s are better now its not the same case with newer MM,s, and that the only thing that has improved in MM,s is that we have now beeter MM designed phonostages being the 3150 essential MM a strong advocate into that.
Gconde: congratulations on your newly ordered 3150, the thing is a beast!...
Raul: Thank you so much for your hospitality and your unintrested willingness to share your music and analog passion with me.
BTW i was also accompanied by a dealer friend of mine who is the Mexican importer for Jadis,Harmonix,Gryphon and many top high-end brands,..he was equally impressed and had a great time too.

Dear Brizonbiovisier: Yes, with the FM 222 along the FM 255/266.

Very good units but I prefer the whole Essential 3150 performance. As a fact the FM Acoustics was one of our test bench standard for performance against our Essential design.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Which others did you use as bench marks?

Dear Brizonbiovizier: Our ultimate reference was/is " live music ".

The FM Acoustics/ Vendetta Research/ Manley/ Boulder /etc, etc., were references in different ways: accuracy, noise, distortion, frequency response, etc, etc.

We don't do/make any Essential 3150 voicing to meet other similar audio devices. We make/do our best on the Essential 3150 circuit/layout/execution design, selecting the best neutral parts: here in the parts selection was where we made some voicing looking for that neutrality with out loosing: accuracy, very low noise, very low distortion, etc, etc.

We don't manipulate the Essential 3150 looking for a Essential 3150 " colored signature " other than the natural Essential 3150 own design.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear friends: As you can read some of my Mexican friends had the opportunity to heard the Essential 3150 ( at least three of them were musicians: Jsadurni, Cardani and the dealer friend of Cardani ) some of them tube lovers.

Like Jsadurni posted: the Colibri ( in my system ) is an unbeateable cartridge, something to hear it.

Yes, like Cardani posted the MM cartridges are really good, the one that he hard was the Micro Acoustic MA 630, this is only a good example almost all my MM cartridges sound great.

The audio experience that Guilermo ( Gconde ) and I share with the Halcro DM10 ( that P. Bolin in Stereophile put over the Boulder and Steelhead preamps. ) in his and my audio systems was really a great one, not only because the Essential 3150 beats the Halcro ( by a wide margin ) or because Guillermo buy the Essential 3150 after that, but because he and I find that the differences between the Halcro DM10 and the Essential 3150 where the same on both systems but with different grade: both systems are different on its whole resolution and the differences were higher in the higher resolution system.

This subject is important because many of us that posted in Agon heard different things on the same audio item and ask why those differences: different systems and different system resolution.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear friends: This is my February shedule trip on USA showing the Essential 3150, everyone is welcome! :

- Philadelphia: 10-12, the main presentation will be in Joe's ( Slipknot1 ) house. You could be in touch with Joe or with Spencer Bank at: spencerbank@comcast.net slipknot1@comcast.net
Thx again to both of you.

- Denver: 14. This will be at Thom's ( Thom_mackris )place and you could be in touch at: galibier_design@hotmail.com
Thx Thom for your effort.

- San Diego: 15-17. Here Norm ( ctm_cra@yahoo.com ) will be our gentle hostess, Thx for that Norm.

Well, I think that all of us could have a good time during those meetings.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear friends: Time to go. I will ariive this friday to Philadelphia.
If I can I will report about the Essential 3150 roundtrip meetings. See you all over!!!!!

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

We'll see you here in Colorado on Valentine's day Raul.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Any member within driving distance to San Diego, please consider joining Members and Friends of the SD Music & Audio Guild (SDMAG) this Thursday (15Feb2007) at 6 PM sharp for our audio society's mid-February meeting.

We are graciously being hosted by the kind folks at Stereo Unlimited on Sports Arena Blvd (3191 Sports Arena Blvd, (619) 223-8151).

We are featuring Raul Iruegas and his Essential 3150 full function preamp. We will also have some raffle giveaways throughout the evening.

Raul is a fellow enthusiast I met through numerous discussions in this forum. He has already showcased his preamp in the Southwest and as you now it was well received. This west coast leg comes after his more recent presentations in the Eastcoast, Midcentral and Midwest states, including CO.

***Raul will also be available on the 16th, 17th, and 18th to demo his preamp in your system or store. If you are interested in hearing how his preamp sounds in your system with music you are most familiar with, then please let me know and I can schedule your request. A few requests have come in and we hope you take advantage of this great opportunity.***

If Raul's preamp does not interest you enough to attend, hopefully a great evening with fellow music and audio fans and the promise of at least SIX raffle giveaways can convince you to come.

Kind Regards!

See the other thread about this preamp to read my comments on Raul's Philadelphia visit and on hearing the Essential in 3 different high end systems.
http://learn.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl? eanlg&1166047312&read&keyw&zz3150 Cheers,
Spencer

Whats your opinion on current mode input phono stages Raul?

Gregadd, why the overreaction to Piedpiper's simple comparison question?

I don't mind comparing Rauls preamp to anny preamp. I just think Walker or his supporters should do it in another thread. Raul has implied that his preamp is dead neutral. IMO that is just another way of saying it is the best. He has "thrown down the gauntlet" and should be prepared to defend it against all comers.

Something Raul has never shied away from in the past.

I believe I made myself quite clear in my response to Gregadd, and Albert stepped up to the plate admirably, if a little less specific than I would have prefered. My question stands, as well as a wish for comparisons to any and all other contenders. I happen to be familiar with Lloyd's phono stage is all, and I would think that a comparison of two (or more) top tier SS stages would be of particular interest as there will always be those who will prefer tubes regardless. There is no reason to "do it in another thread" when comparing to the 3150, regardless of anyones perception of Lloyd's style, or mine for that matter. Raul isn't exactly shying away from self promotion here and I don't begrudge him the opportunity. I have always felt as I said above that comparisons between components, as well as to live music, are essential since we are choosing components.

Gregadd, what does Walker have to do with this? Piedpiper merely asked if anyone had compared the two. Why should this be on another thread. Hopefully this thread will not become like the one on Supratek or H-Cat. I dearly wish people would post personal experiences and were they furtunate enough to have a comparison, I would love to hear their experiences. I would love to compare the Essential with the H-Cat as I look forward to comparing the Exemplar top preamp with the H-Cat.

I just thought since the name of the thread is "Experience with Rauls' Essential 3150" then that is what we should talk about. If you want to talk about Walkers preamp then start you own thread. If you disagree, so be it.

Gregadd, I do disagree, but hey no one owns a thread, as is obvious given the way many go far away from the initial start of the thread.

They digress. Without my permission no less!

I believe "Experience with Raul's Essential 3150" can include real comparisons to other known preamps. Obviously, this would shed light on the character of the 3150, which, if I'm not mistaken, is the topic of this thread.

'nuff said, eh?

Pied Piper,

Raul is a bennevolent pressence here at Audiogon and shares his passion and point of view for audio excellence often. He gave me an introduction to the Empire EDR.9 and you could look at my review.

When I asked Raul the same question he forwarded these comments from another thread concerning the introduction and demonstration inside other peoples home systems.

Let me pass these on to you

" 02-16-07: Sbank
Last weekend I was fortunate to get an extended opportunity to meet Raul and
listen to Raul's Essential 3150 at great length in three very different
systems. I will go into more detail in a moment, but let me summarize by
stating that as a guy with a longtime preference for tubes vs. ss, this is
the first piece of ss gear that I would be happy to own for the long run.

Long story, short, Raul came to Philadelphia after an email mail
exchange(about phono stages in general) where I mentioned to Raul our local
audio club, and that if he ever wanted to give a bunch of us a chance to
hear his phono/line preamp, that I could arrange it. I had never met Raul
previously, and have no business or economic relationship with him. Simply,
I saw an audience for Raul, and my audio club often enjoys demonstrations
from various manufacturers, etc.

The Essential 3150 spent time in three systems: mine, Slipknot1's and
Badboss429's. The systems are quite varied as follows:

"Warming in the Atma-Sphrere" - Atma MA1s/Merlin VSM-MX w/ SuperBam/ Atma
MP3/VPI TNT6-HR w/12.6, Walker Motor Controller and ZYX Airy3S- SB/ modded
Sony SACD/Cardas, Omega Mikro, Silent Source, GroverHuffman cabling

"Ars Musica" - Walker Proscenium Gold w/Magic Diamond/Wolcott P220s/ Kharma
2.2s/Supratek Chenin/Rives room design/Silent Source, Synergistic, Omega
Mikro cable

Badboss429's - Quicksilver Triode Monoblocks/Audio Research SP11mk2/ heavily
modded Michell Gyrotec & Zeta Arm w/Transfiguration Temper W/ Goldmund
Dialogues/Minimax CD/Walker Velocitor/Omega Mikro cables

Of course no component is "best" overall, and I haven't heard every preamp
around, but I can say that in these systems, the Essential 3150 was a
dramatic improvement over the other preamp in each case with both line and
phono stages. The Essential has no signature of its own that I can detect.
It sounds neither "tubey" nor ss. It allows music to flow in a seemingly
effortless fashion.

In my system, I heard details in familiar recordings with greater clarity.
For example, in the last movement of the Mercury Dorati/LSO Firebird, just
before the main theme returns a short motif starts at the back or the
orchestra and then is repeated by success rows of instruments, coming closer
each time it's repeated. This hit me like waves hitting the beach with
tremendous emotion. The Essential lowered the noise floor beyond other phono
stages that I'd tried without bleaching the tonality or sacrificing the full
body of individual instruments.

In "Ars Musica", the Essential immediately increased the size of the
soundstage in both width and depth, something I didn't expect vs. the
Supratek, which generally excels in that area. Quiet black backgrounds are
often the forte of ss phonostages, but the Walker table really can expose
any downstream troubles. The synergy between the Walker and the Essential
was overwhelming.
I must say that the sound in that system that day from the sweet spot is one
of the best sounding to my ears that I've heard in 25 years in this hobby.
Without a doubt, the most musical of about 5 times hearing various Kharmas.
Whether listening to classical, jazz or rock, everything sounded balanced
and natural. Dynamics, tonality, transparency, we heard it all. So many toes
were tapping, we looked like an audio-geek chorus line!
About 40-50 members of our audio club were at this demo, spread out over
about 6 hours, so perhaps some others who attended will chime in here with
their impressions. From the reactions I heard, I think many were
dumbfounded, as I was.

On Monday, Raul and I brought the Essential to Badboss429's place, as he was
hoping to hear it in his rig. Same story here, with overall enjoyment of the
system taken to new heights. Bass clarity and detail was the most apparent
thing, along with great dynamic presence notable on things like loud trumpet
bursts, etc.

It's hard to describe a component that doesn't have its own sound. But I
can't find much of a signature on this piece. It allowed me to hear more
everywhere I heard it, but it didn't strike me as "too hi-fi", as many ss
components affect my ears. I never thought I'd lust for a piece of ss gear;
now I stand corrected.

The construction and design of the Essential 3150 are high quality and low
key style-wise, with many aerospace industry quality parts. Raul spent many
years in the design of this piece, and I was fascinated to hear from him how
he went to great lengths in both measuring components for great subjective
performance and listening by ear to ensure great musicality. I encourage
anyone who is interested in a state-of-the-art phono/line preamp to check
out the Essential 3150; Raul and his new jewel really impressed me. Cheers,
Spencer Sbank "

best regards

Groovey Records

Thanks Groovey, I had read the original which is why I wanted to pursue it further. I am well aware of Raul's generous presence here and generosity therein. He is a testimony to well meaning directness; still only one point of view, however experienced. No need to read into my comments any negative subtext. There is none.

Hi Piedpiper, I am a proud owner of the Essential 3150 and have had a chance to compare it with my various former preamp's and phonostages. These include an EAR 324, Audio Research LS25 MKII, Conrad Johnson PS16, Croft classic, and an Atma-sphere MP-3 (among a few other valve and ss models).

I think Groovey's point is valid and that the Essential does not impart any detectable signature of its own. What it does above other models is provide an optimum platform for the recorded source to flow through with an unbelievable degree of accuracy. This includes accuracy in timbre, pace, pitch, soundstage (width and depth), frequency extremes (top and bottom), midrange, dynamics and all against an unplumbably low soundfloor.

It might even seem to be an anti-hifi piece of equipment to the extent that it removes the numerous colourations that are inherent to much hifi and leaves only the musicians and their performances before the listener. This meant that it took me more time to get used to - with me having been unknowingly led by the industry and its champion's to an appreciation of the sound of different pieces of hardware.

Although I do not think it unacceptable that the more coloured and traditional approaches to performance can satisfy and provide a pleasurable listening experience, the Essential is indubitably something else. I believe (and he might strongly resent my assumptions) that this form of musical portrayal is what underpins Raul's many comments on valve amp's and his preferences for specific cartridges (Allaerts MC2), cables (Anaylsis Plus Silver), etc. It also underpins (IMHO) his emphasis on live performances as the true reference for hifi.

As I say, I think it has no signature or colourations and is only limited by the quality of the equipment that you select to accompany it. In this sense, it might be difficult to compare it to other pieces of equipment but I hope that my personal account is of some use and that more people have a chance to give the Essential a go: it really seems a phenomenal piece of equipment to me.

Kindest

Thanks Dgob; all the more reason to hear more specific comparisons to known references so I can know what you mean. Of course, trying the piece out, alongside others, in my own system would trump all words. In lieu of that...

vanishingly low distortion,noise,low coloration and ruler flat frequency response has never been a problem for solid state. It's inability to sound like music is its' problem.

If Raul has solved that problem, then he has truly a special preamp.

Hi Gregadd, he has and so I suppose you really should try to hear it. Having said that, I would not necessarily endorse your view of ss electronics! For example, the EAR 324 can be contrasted with the EAR 834P Signature to appreciate the potential limitations of the view that you express here. One reputable manufacturer using both ss and valve technologies.

The former (ie, the 324) is just so much closer to the actual recording and/or performance on any of the acquired criteria (lower sound floor, better dynamics, frequency extention, timbre, imaging etc) that I cannot believe anyone doing an objective A/B test could doubt this: despite the latter's popularity in certain hifi circles and publications!?

I feel that the issues concerning inherited expectations and colourations is significant here. Whilst this does not preclude preferences for more coloured items, it definately opens the question about the relationship between being "accurate" and being what people might percieve as "musical". My view is that the Essential is a rare object in being extremely accurate and, thereby, very musical. This of might of course throw into question certain adopted views of what indeed constitutes musicality in hifi. And we go back to the issue of live performances as a point d'appui, as it were... But the proof of the pudding remains in the eating!

I never suggested that ss can't be musical. Just that I have been disappointed so many times before. And as much as I admire Raul he has all the rhetoric of the proponents of ss. His disdain for tubes and affinity for spec's. Words like accuracy and neutrality have led me down the primrose path before only to leave me cold. I hope Raul has led us to the path of musicality. If he has, it will indeed be a "road less traveled."

I have various friends who are open about "listening to their hifi". In many instances, this has meant that they acknowledge the importance of listening to that-something-extra that their equipment imparts to actual produced sound (for which the term "musicality" seems to stand at times).

The Atma-sphere MA1 and MP-3 combination appears (to me and my range of experience) to represent the ultimate in the type of system and sound that they wish to hear. Is it musical? Within the prominent framework of "hifi sound": ABSOLUTELY. Is it accurate. In line with actual performances: Absolutley NOT. And I'll try to indicate my view here.

I happen to have been at the live concert/carnival where Aswad recorded their 'Live and Direct' album. I was pleasantly surprised by the wide and warm palette through which the Atma-sphere (OTL) combination presented this album. However, I definately recognised that it was not producing the sound that Aswad and the audience/crowd had produced. On the other hand, I am completely blown away and convinced by the beauty of the album that arises from it being accurately represented using the Essential and its associated (ss) technologies. Expectations, objectives and reference points all seem important here.

Dgob,

the other element that's missing in your description is the PA used at the Aswad concert. If the concert was not unamplified, the amplifiers and speakers, as opposed to the mixing board and recording device, are likely to lack the subtlety of the systems referenced here and and are undoubtedly solid state. Not to argue your point too strongly; just an addtional tempering element.