Sonic Frontiers Preamps - Cold & thin?

Hmmm: I listened a SF CD player a while back. I did not give it too much attention as it was way out of my price range (even used). I did not find it to be thin or cold at all. The speakers in the demo were Linn's and I did not pay any attention to the amp/preamp, they may have been Plinius, but I am not certain as the shop has quite a few combinations on a switch box. People have certain expecatations when listening to a tube unit for the first time (they expect it to sound tubey). Audible Illusions L1 and various AR models do not sound tubey, but they do sound musical.

I had a SF2 & SF3 in my system for a few weeks and did not like either of them. I found them dead sounding. If that is what the reviewers mean by "cold and thin", I agree fully with their assessment. I personally like the BAT VK50SE and the ARC Ref 2. The ARC is not what I would call neutral, but it is fantastic. The BAT is my "current" favorite peamp. If you do not need balanced and remote you should also listen to the CAT.

I auditioned all the above mentioned preamps in my system with no preconcieved ideas about their sonic characteristics. The SF were my least favorite. Sorry to all the Sonic Frontier owners.

Odd, I know a guy who got rid of his Ref2 for a Line3... He ran mostly arc ref equipment - it looked so strange. Anyway, I do have to admit though: I've heard the Line3 sound bad in a system also. SF doesn't mate well with all electronics. I would guess this is probably where some people are getting these odd reviews from. Jtinn what is your system composed of? I'd like to know what NOT to buy in the future because I love my pre. :)

Don't have SF preamp, but own the SF Power3 amps with CAT Ultimate preamp. What a great combination! Yes, SF products are definitely more neutral than cj or arc stuff, not as sweet or rich sounding. But, taste is a very subjective thing. I have heard arc Ref. line products, they are good, but i am not about to give up SF because I think they can do wonder, especially with my CAT preamp. Good luck hunting guys!!

Hi Kevziek; We once clashed on a thread, but I'm over that, and I hope you are too. I like your thread. I've owned or auditioned (in home) all the SF pre-amps you mention. And I presently use the SF Line 2 in my main system, along with a sweet sounding McCormack DNA2DX amp, and the somewhat warm, forgiving Vand. 3Asig. spkrs. (Levinson front end). In my system, the Line 2 is neutral, timbrally accurate, detailed, and holographic, and it's also musical if you like accurate rather than euphonic. I've read the criticisms of the Line series preamps, and none of them have been my experience. I certainly do not find them cold, thin, sterile etc. in my system, but I do agree that it is a matter of system matching and also preferences. Personally, I've decided that I don't care for the "syrupy rich, tubey sound" that characterizes some (especially) older tube equipment, mainly because it sounds to soft to be real to me (I've played guitars, both acoustic and electric for 40 years, and a steel stringed acoustic guitar does not sound soft). In fact I very much agree with the Stereophile review of this pre-amp. IMO, the SFL-2 is the finest sounding pre-amp SF has made, ie it's a bit "richer" than the Line 2, and somewhat more involving, but the one I auditioned had bad transformer hum, and I returned it. Then the Line series came out. The Line 1 sounds much like the Line 2, but it's a little more aggressive, and I use it in a 2nd system. I tried the Line 3, but in my system it was much too forward with a big, bloomy (un-natural) soundstage. The SFL-1 is an excellent older SF hybrid pre-amp with just one tube, and its sound character can easily be changed with just the change of one tube. I used the SFL-1 for several years. A good friend has an older C-J pre-amp that is much more "tubey" sounding, but I prefer the more neutral sound of the Line 2. I haven't heard recent ARC pre-amps, but from what I've read, they are also trending much more towards neutral than their past products. Cheers. Craig.