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Originally Posted by basman  I acquired all of my cans in Korea and returned back here in Manila. I had the opportunity to hook my MS2i to my Rotel RC-1070 preamp. The result I regret acquiring my HP100. The Rotel drives my MS2i with ease on the 9 o'clock. It just sounds good to me and very clean with full bodied sound.
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Just checked out a couple of reviews on the Stello HP100 as I'd never heard of it before. It's quite an ambition design--toroidal transformer, the lot--and gets great reviews, so your preference for the Rotel is significant. Of course this doesn't mean that the Rotel is "better", but rather that to some listeners under some circumstances it can seem preferable, so the two must be quite close.
Having just received the "Supplier" power supply for my Cute Beyond, I did quite a full comparison with my Marantz PM6010 (using Senn HD650). Result: I'd be hard put to claim a winner, but I think if I had to choose it'd probably be the Marantz. I'm a bit disappointed, as I was hoping to justify the $120 US I paid for the Supplier. It's a good combination, especially for $300, but less convenient than the Marantz (as I would still need a switching device) and sounds no better. Still, it does save electricity, so I'll probably be using it more often. Luckily the Marantz doesn't use input relay switching, which means it can be used as a switching device whilst turned off--even the tape monitor. There's something to remember when choosing an integrated for use with a separate HP amp, boys and girls: choose one with purely mechanical switching so you don't need to have it on to use the input selector etc. Don't say I never taught you anything.
