Great to hear that it's no dud! Judging by your enthusiasm the sound left a markable impression! I had almost forgotten about it but you just re-sparked my interest in this preamp. How is the build quality? And the valve behind the glass porthole, is it lit up by a LED or on its own? And how do the knobs feel etc? Would love to hear more impressions and possibly more pics.
Well, a dud it is not!!
Yes, I am very pleased with the sound quality I am now able to enjoy.
Although I am extremely pleased to have gotten this pre slightly used, and at a fabulous price, now being aware of exactly what it is, I would have NO problem recommending it @ the new price....certainly worth every cent (!)
I will try to answer your queries in order;
Build quality...
It is surprisingly heavy, quite solid , finished as well as any of my other name-brand equipment, and really nice looking.
I have ordered a fitted piece of plexi-glass, in which I will drill a pattern of holes for cooling, to serve as the top cover, so the softly glowing tubes remain visible (eBay, custom cut to size...... around $20 including shipping)
The tube behind the glass is lit by LED lights (6...3 on each side vertically stacked) AS WELL as has power as with any tube, and glows accordingly.....I am giving consideration to dis-connecting the LED's, and just letting it glow on its' own .....appears simple to do with just a couple of wires running to the LED's.
Knobs are heavy, machined aluminum, matching the rest of the build and solid feel of the unit.
Input selection is controlled by relays, and the unit makes a satisfying, solid "ker-chunk" when switching between input sources.
I have experimented with turning the selector to an input which has the source turned off, while another input source is playing.....with the volume knob @ the 3 o'clock position, there is very little "bleed-through" to be heard....about half of what I heard from my Carver pre.
The volume control has detents...which is really not my first preference, but I can live with it, and understand it is not too difficult to alter.
Balance and tone controls (unused) have smooth motion, free of detents.
I would compare the solidity of the overall structure and the feel of the unit with my late 70's vintage silver aluminum and wood Akai receiver....quite substantial.
I see you have quoted from my first posting regarding this unit, and for some more dialogue regarding sound, page down a bit to my second posting, to see some further rhapsodizing regarding the sound quality......lol
I will add that now that my Yaqin MS-23b phono pre-amp has about 60 hrs of running time, the tubes are becoming smoother (original Chinese ones), and vinyl is like a slice of heaven......I am beginning to understand the meaning of the word "musical" that I hear bantered about by stereo component reviewers...!!!!!!!!!
I have orders sets of Raytheon "Black Plate" tubes for both the pre and the phono stage....not because I am not pleased, but I have read much from other sources that claim even more soundstage and smoothness (already great IMHO) can be gained from their use....am curious to see what all the hoopla is about!
As far as pics, most whom sell this unit on eBay are using a standard ad, which includes numerous excellent, detailed pics.
Hope that answers some of your questions/addresses some of your concerns.
Will update again after further break-in and tube rolling.