Sonic Frontier Line 3 SE


Has any one hear Sonic Frontier's Line 3 SE Preamp any feed back
lew4
I have had the Line 3 SE in my system for approximately 3 months now and I am very pleased with the performance. I have ran my CD player direct to amps and have also had the VAC renescance Pre in the system and The Line 3 provides much better dynamic contrasts and authority on the lows that feeding direct . Compared to the VAC it is much quieter and frankly didn't give up anything at a price point at literally 2/3rds less!! This unit does exactly what a pre is designed to do, it's neutral and simply gets out of the way and allows the music to be enjoyed.
Just purchased a SF Line 3 SE and Power 3, from an authorized dealer here on AudiogoN. Over the past couple of years I’ve tried several preamps (and Amps), such as Levinson 380s, AR LS 25, Krell KRC. Although I have only had the Line 3 SE, Power 3, for a few days, I can say that so far it’s awesome. The Krell was getting old, so I sold it for Levinson gear. I had a problem with the 380s, where I was getting occasional brownouts in my neighborhood and this would cause the 380s to come out of standby and power itself on. Since the 380s was connected to a Levinson 336 amp, it would power on the amp as well. This was an intermittent problem that Madrigal couldn’t resolve. Next I tried Audio Research. Couldn’t get used to the fan noise in their amps, and the LS 25 had a noisy transformer buzz. So now it’s SF Power 3 and Line 3 SE. Now this is just my opinion based on my (limited) experience, but the SF combination sounds as good and in some ways better than my previous gear, and the purchase price of this equipment is thousands less! The SF is very musical, no fan noise, no transformer buzzes, and the Line 3 SE has a nice rotary volume control knob (not spring loaded like AR). I have listened to SF and BAT equipment at an Audio retailer. The regular Line 3 was an excellent product, and now the SE version is even better. My other choice was BAT, but the 50SE is much more expensive (even used), and to my ears not necessarily better the SF. BAT amps are great, but I wanted more wattage and a pair of BAT 150SEs is too expensive for me. I think if you are on a somewhat limited high end budget, the SF gear offers the best sound quality and value for the money. For now, my SF is being used along with B&W N802, Sony 777ES SACD and Transparent Ultra cables.
Hi Lew4; its early, but I'm interested in this too-- also the Line 2 SE. I just auditioned the Valvos in my Line 2 and did not like them (they're in the SEs), while they are more soft, warm, and tubey, they lacked coherence in my system with a somewhat forward mid-range-- guess I like the more neutral/accurate sound of the stock Sovteks. In fact I'd guess the major sound character change in the SEs is due to the Valvo tubes. I'd like to hear a Line 2 SE with Sovteks though. Cheers. Craig.