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The mighty CAT preamp

I am wandering if anyone else has heard the new CAT Renaissance that IMHO gets deservedly great reviews in the Nov '09 Stereophile review by Robert Deutsch.

My own CAT Sig with rolled in NOS tubes is IMHO still here to stay. Which makes me wander, has anyone gone and replaced a CAT with something else ( either tube or ss) that they believe is a BIG step up? If so, what preamp is it and what are the other pieces in your system?
daveyf

Showing 5 responses by jwm

jwm
918 posts
 
I moved from the CAT Ultimate to VTL 7.5 and now I'm using the Audio Research Ref 2 Mark 2. To me the CAT was foward and bright or you could say thin.
jwm
918 posts
 
Are you kidding. In my system the AR Ref 2 mark 2 killed the CAT and the VTL 7.5. How is that 3 step backwards.
jwm
918 posts
 
For the fact that the Audio Research is more alive sounding with much better depth and detail. The VTL had less depth, less detail and less transparency.
jwm
918 posts
 
I was and still am using the ESP Harp's which are very similar to the ESP Concert Grands. At the time I was using VTL 450 monoblocks. Now I am using the VAC 300i Phi Monoblocks. I still like the sound of the AR better than the CAT with these amps.
jwm
918 posts
 
Audio is an art. Sometimes its luck and other times very hard work. You are right just because the CAT was not the best in my system does not mean it will not shine in another system.
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