@dastro
I used to own a Hafler amp, then an Adcom 555 and then an Aragon 2004 mkii (which I thought sounded better than the 4004 in a/b comparison, btw). Also spent a lot of time time in Progressive Audio. They got a lot of my money.
Don’t know if you were around when big Henry (beard) was there. He was trying to sell me a CJ preamp ($1000), and suggested that I bring in a lower priced ($699 if I remember right) Bryston ss preamp to a/b with their CJ. I did so... and the Bryston schiit all over the CJ, even in different matching configurations. You should’ve seen Henry’s jaw hit the floor. High-larious. They must have hated me there.
In that vein, back in 1995 while I was stationed at Ft Rucker, I got the bright idea to audition three preamps in my home. I was running the Aragon 2004 MKII with a set of PSB Stratus Golds. Anyway, one was a $5500 Krell, another was a $4500 Audio Research, and the last was a Melos Audio MA-333a. The latter was used at $2000, previously owned by none other than Barry Gordy of Motown. The MA-333a smoked the others in that setup. I mean smoked. The AR sounded veiled in comparison, while the Krell sounded speedy and contrived.
Later on, I took it to a buddy’s house in Atlanta, who also happened to work for HiFi Buys when they were the bee’s knees. He had another audiophile friend there that was quite proud of his Counterpoint (SA-7 if I remember right), and his jaw was likewise as Henry’s when he heard the Melos. But from what I remember, the Counterpoint was closer in the running than the AR or the Krell. He was running Martin Logans, btw.
So much is predicated on matching. Best advice I’ve gotten... try before you buy.
