Nice review Peter and thanks for the mention. Glad if I helped in any way as you've built/improved your system.
As both you and Mothra said, the Alaap lets the music through with less distortion, compression or blockage than we've ever heard. All one can ask of a component is that it pass all the signal it receives without damage. That's much harder to achieve than to say, but after years of work Nick seems to have done it.
Regarding comparisons, I maintain an informal list of preamps that we or others have A/B'd with an Alaap. That list is long, growing and includes some fancy names with price tags up to an astonishing $40K (four times the cost of my unit). The results are almost always the same. Mothra used words like "embarrassed" and "killed" and he did not indulge himself with hyperbole. Such words are used by most people after they hear a comparison, and they often back up their words with money.
A few months ago a new friend drove two hours to hear our turntable. He did end up getting a similar table, but the very first thing he bought after that visit was an Alaap. He now finds listening to his old preamp painful, as do we. The Alaap may be the best $40K+ preamp you can buy for $10-15K. Once you have one, all interest in preamp comparisons ends (except for helping others). Like Mothra we have no desire to upgrade - ever.
Nick's work has put his gear very near the top of the heap. His wife would admit he's always been at the top of the heap for being a great guy. If he weren't married I'd marry him myself, if I weren't married!
As both you and Mothra said, the Alaap lets the music through with less distortion, compression or blockage than we've ever heard. All one can ask of a component is that it pass all the signal it receives without damage. That's much harder to achieve than to say, but after years of work Nick seems to have done it.
Regarding comparisons, I maintain an informal list of preamps that we or others have A/B'd with an Alaap. That list is long, growing and includes some fancy names with price tags up to an astonishing $40K (four times the cost of my unit). The results are almost always the same. Mothra used words like "embarrassed" and "killed" and he did not indulge himself with hyperbole. Such words are used by most people after they hear a comparison, and they often back up their words with money.
A few months ago a new friend drove two hours to hear our turntable. He did end up getting a similar table, but the very first thing he bought after that visit was an Alaap. He now finds listening to his old preamp painful, as do we. The Alaap may be the best $40K+ preamp you can buy for $10-15K. Once you have one, all interest in preamp comparisons ends (except for helping others). Like Mothra we have no desire to upgrade - ever.
Nick's work has put his gear very near the top of the heap. His wife would admit he's always been at the top of the heap for being a great guy. If he weren't married I'd marry him myself, if I weren't married!