The JRDG Consonance preamp w/phono- for approximately $3500 with the line-stage upgrade and sorbothane treatment which came a bit later (stereophile never acknowleged the new mod even though they gave a very favorable review to the original preamp). a very quiet/great sounding AND inexpensive mm/mc phono stage ($300) which i never felt the need to replace, was included. AND, with the new line-stage module ($450) there was easily a 25% improvement in the transparency of the piece. even after experimenting with some fancier preamps much later on, there was improvement in some areas, but the Consonance still sounded great. i see these going for $1000 on audiogon and i just have to smile a little- this was THE FIRST REMOTE CONTROL PREAMP ON THE HI-END MARKET, and the remote is still one of the best i've seen (200 volume steps, one at a time or 10 at a time), a big chunk of metal with phase, record out switching, mono, virtually everything is on there. inside the preamp you can set input and output impedence, plus a whole lot more YOURSELF without tools or solder. IMHO it's pretty special.
What has been your most satisfying component?
I don't think I have seen this question asked so here it goes. Many of us tend to buy and sell looking for the ideal, the holy grail, what works best in the current system, or whatever.
What component (or components)have stood the test of time in your system? I've been through quite a few but some have stayed despite having bought their replacements and subsequently selling them. I'll share once we get a few posts to get things going.
What component (or components)have stood the test of time in your system? I've been through quite a few but some have stayed despite having bought their replacements and subsequently selling them. I'll share once we get a few posts to get things going.