Dgarretson:
The analog vs. digital debate (as well as tubes vs. SS) will never have a clear winner -- it's a matter of personal preferences and trade-offs. I recently sold a wonderful sounding tube DAC (Audio Logic) in favor of my Tact pre/amp combo. Is the Tact better? Not necessarily. Does it do some things I like better? Yes. Do I prefer the Audio Logic in some ways? Yes.
For me, the Tact's strengths outweigh its weaknesses, but I can appreciate the opposite view also. The Tact provides impressive air and palpability, great extension and detail, good transparency, remarkable openess, and a wide, deep and nicely layered soundstage. But it can sound a bit on the clinical side, lacking the rich tonality and fluidity some folks crave. I don't hear it that way, or at least I feel that what it does right so overshadows it's limitations that it's a no-brainer for me.
I haven't owned an analog set-up for over a decade, since I sold my Oracle/ET/Troika. I miss the ease and fluidity of that set-up, but the presentation never left me feeling that I was in the presence of musicians the way I do with the Tact. I've heard some good and more recent top-tier analog set-ups at a local dealer's, and was very impressed. But I no longer have the patience to clean records, cue them up, turn them over, listen through the scratches, etc. And I listen to a lot of jazz and appreciate being able to skip over songs I don't feel like listening to.
I've also become enamored with hard-drive storage (Red Wine Olive Musica). To me, it sounds better than spinning discs. And it's so nice to sit in your listening chair and select from your whole collection at a push of a button. So...it's all a matter of priorities and trade-offs. The Tact works for me. I can't remember the last piece of equipment I've owned for more than four years.
The analog vs. digital debate (as well as tubes vs. SS) will never have a clear winner -- it's a matter of personal preferences and trade-offs. I recently sold a wonderful sounding tube DAC (Audio Logic) in favor of my Tact pre/amp combo. Is the Tact better? Not necessarily. Does it do some things I like better? Yes. Do I prefer the Audio Logic in some ways? Yes.
For me, the Tact's strengths outweigh its weaknesses, but I can appreciate the opposite view also. The Tact provides impressive air and palpability, great extension and detail, good transparency, remarkable openess, and a wide, deep and nicely layered soundstage. But it can sound a bit on the clinical side, lacking the rich tonality and fluidity some folks crave. I don't hear it that way, or at least I feel that what it does right so overshadows it's limitations that it's a no-brainer for me.
I haven't owned an analog set-up for over a decade, since I sold my Oracle/ET/Troika. I miss the ease and fluidity of that set-up, but the presentation never left me feeling that I was in the presence of musicians the way I do with the Tact. I've heard some good and more recent top-tier analog set-ups at a local dealer's, and was very impressed. But I no longer have the patience to clean records, cue them up, turn them over, listen through the scratches, etc. And I listen to a lot of jazz and appreciate being able to skip over songs I don't feel like listening to.
I've also become enamored with hard-drive storage (Red Wine Olive Musica). To me, it sounds better than spinning discs. And it's so nice to sit in your listening chair and select from your whole collection at a push of a button. So...it's all a matter of priorities and trade-offs. The Tact works for me. I can't remember the last piece of equipment I've owned for more than four years.