So I have been spending a good bit of time listening to it, and comparing it against my Liberty phono stage.
There are a lot of positive attributes about this phono stage, as it images really well, the top end is remarkably detailed, and it has remarkable focus.
With that said, what I did find is that the upper mids is noticeably forward in my system, and the JBL are pretty unforgiving monitors, at least in this region. I spent a bit of time pairing it with a more forgiving cartridge, such as my ZYX, and I also worked through a few interconnects to see if I could find a favorable pairing. I was able to shade the sound to a certain degree, but this basic characteristic of the upper mids still comes through.
So for me this is a pairing that will not work. I certainly see the value of this piece, and certain types of systems I bet its the cats meow. But with the nature of the studio monitors, and using a hybrid SS/tube integrated, the pairing is just not quite there.
So I am going to work this a bit more, but I have gone through quite a few permutations of analog pieces I have here, and I don't think this is a piece that is going to work for me. But hey, I am a picky pig, and the little things matter to me.
Regards
Mister Pig