VTL, CTC, Lamm, ARC, EAR, Halcro, Mark Levison

i owned the Exquisite 1D's for 4 years and have owned the Levinson #32 as well as had the Lamm L2, Aesthetix Calisto Sig. w/2 power supplies, and CTC Blowtorch in my room with the 1D's. however, i have not had the ML2.1's in my room.

i likely agree with Fmpnd that the ACT II is better than any of those others.....i have only heard the ARC Ref 3 at shows....it is quite good.

my personal recommendation is the new battery powered darTZeel preamp i have now. it is on another level from anything i have heard. if you get the chance listen to it. it includes what may be the very best phono stage i have heard.

your gear is at the very top of the heap.....it deserves the best preamp.

David, Herve Delatraz (Mr. darTZeel) is in Geneva, SW. if you contact him directly i would expect something could be worked out.

www.dartzeel.com

his e-mail address is

rehve@darTZeel.com

the Connoisseur Definitions was the phono stage/pre which had most intrigued me. i had spent a few hours at shows listening to it. now that i have heard the darTZeel i don't think there is anything out there close.

in my opinion; in AC mode the darTZeel pre is a little better than anything i have heard. in battery mode it blows everything away.

it's worth a day (or two) to drive from Paris to Geneva to listen. i have another friend in Paris that also has some interest (he has the ACR Ref 3, Boulder 2008 phono stage, 5-box Esoteric digital, Rockport Sirius III tt, Rockport Hyperion speakers) so if Herve brings one to Paris let me know and i'll let my friend know.

it's one thing to hear the dart pre in an unfamiliar system. OTOH if you get it in your own system and really hear the difference it will amaze you.

good luck. if you do connect on this i would be very interested in your feedback.