I love tube components and the 6SN7 family. My concern with this premap is the output impedance of 400. I question the ability of any preamp with an output impedance that high being capable of delivering the bass correctly (tight with speed and timbre delineation) when compared with a preamp with say a 100 or less output impedance. I have been on a bit of a preamp merry go round recently and have heard the following in my system: CAT SL Ultimate MK2 (output impedance 100), Symphonic Line tubed (output impedance 100), Symphonic Line SS preamp (output impedance 1!), NAT Audio Utopia tubed (current king of the heap, output impedance 50) and a Ming DA 2A3 with I believe about a 600 ohm output impedance. I am betting the Ming DA sounds most like the Cary SL-05. It is a fantasic sounding preamp with incredible presence and transparency but (only) when compared directly to the others do you realize that the bass is sloppy. The difference between the SL tubed (100) and SL SS (1) is audible in the bass. I still like the tubed pres presentation better than the SS but once you start getting above 100 ohm output impedance the bass suffers noticeably. I am still tempted to try the Cary SL-05. I would love to hear a reply to this regarding bass performance from someone that has actually compared it to a preamp with a low output impedance.
Bart
Bart