[kelly]

Disclaimer: As always, this is purely a subjective review. The contents herein reflect my opinion alone and do not represent opinions of HeadFi, its sponsors, its moderators, nor Meier Audio. Moreover, the opinions were reached by subjective means only without the aid of any measurements. As with any review, please add a grain of salt and assume every statement to mean, “in my system”, “to my ears” and “in my opinion.”

Corda Prehead-1 Preamp/Headphone Amplifier

Associated equipment:
Sony XA777ES with ModWright "Absolute Truth" modifications
Sennheiser HD600 with Cardas replacement cable
Grado HP-1 with standard cable
Ven Haus DIY power cables to source
Generic IEC power cables to amps
Jena Labs Trio Ultra with Cryo interconnect
DIY silver plated interconnects

Amplifiers available for direct AB comparison:
AudioValve RKV II
Corda HA-1 with KurtW "Corda Blue" modifications
HeadAmp.com Gilmore Dynamic

I've had Meier Audio's new preamp/headphone amp in my system for the past few weeks. You see, I received serial #0001 because I preordered one immediately when Meier mentioned that he might develop such a thing.

That may seem like quite a vote of confidence to you and it was, but that's just how taken I was with the modestly priced predecessor, the Corda HA-1 (reviewed here: Corda HA-1 Review ). For the more skeptical readers, this smacks of bias and I don't blame you. I'd be skeptical too. After all, not only did I put my own money on the line but I've obviously become quite a fan of Meier Audio. But I'll ask you to overlook that for one reason: If you can imagine the expectations I had set, imagine how disappointed I could easily be. Would a hero fall?

The Corda Prehead-1, now available only from Meier Audio for $820US.

Features

As you can see, the front panel has quite a bit more going on than in the old HA-1 and this will take a bit of explaining. The anodized faceplate is now a thick 8mm. I don't know what this does for the sound but it looks cool, especially with that red LED glowing through it. Like the HA-1, laser etching of Meier's unique styling is present across the amp--a combination of numbers, simple symbols and the Corda logo in the center.

Headphone Jacks

Far left you'll see two Neutrik XLR/phono jacks. Yes, at last, a Corda amp with 1/4" jacks. Headphone jacks are a funny thing. No one will stand up to say the higher quality ones make for better sounding music but there's no denying the aesthetic value of a solid *thunk* as you slide a headphone into the jack. Neutrik's are a best of breed when it comes to headphone jacks. Other manufacturers have been using the locking variety but as it turns out the newer locking ones are said to be not as good quality as the older ones internally and according to Meier the non-locking ones are easier to install. Besides that is the ever present concern that a locking jack may lead to amp spills.

There are two jacks but you may notice the left is labeled 120ohms and the right 0ohms. Like the HA-1, these two jacks are provided so that the 120ohm international standard can be provided while also providing the 0ohm jack that commonly sounds better with most headphones. In fact, in my experience it has only been the Beyerdynamic DT931 that I actually prefer from the 120ohm jack of either the HA-1 or the Prehead. (The DT931 can be slightly bright from a 0ohm jack and this correction restores a more even tonal balance to the headphone.)

Gain Switch

Along the bottom is a left/right switch mounted in the center of the arrow. This is the amp's gain switch. According to Meier, it simply changes the gain factor of the output stage by changing the resistor values in the feedback chain. I've found the lower setting to be adequate for my headphone listening including with the HD600 but the higher setting could easily be of value with a lower voltage output source, a difficult to try speaker amp or exceptionally power hungry headphones such as the AKG K1000.

In high position, the amp with its 25 watt torroidal transformer can put out a total of 13V and 800mA. This produces 5 watts with a 16ohm load. Meier recommends the AudioValve Impedancer which he also stocks if you intend to use the Prehead to drive efficient speakers. Unfortunately, my speakers are quite inefficient and I was unable to test this out.

Preamp and Crossfeed Switch

The leftmost rotary switch sets turns the preamp on in its first setting and adjusts crossfeed in the other settings. Strangely, the first setting is for Preamp on with crossfeed on high level. Since headphones are easily disconnected from the front, it makes sense to leave the option to listen to headphones and speaker simultaneously. For the other settings, the preamp is switched off since, according to Meier, many may prefer to leave their speaker amps on at all times. Even if the speaker amp is powered off, Meier says the buffer of the amp may present a "dirty" non-linear load and negatively impact the sound of the headphones.

So the switch goes something like this:
1. preamp on / headphone crossfeed high
2. preamp off / headphone crossfeed off (normal stereo)
3. preamp off / headphone crossfeed low
4. preamp off / headphone crossfeed medium
5. preamp off / headphone crossfeed high

I have to admit, I'd have prefered the preamp on/off switch to have been seperate from the crossfeed entirely since this would have given more control and not confused the functions, but the reasons of simplicity here are obvious.

But what is crossfeed? See Meier Audio's site for a more technical explanation of the Meier Natural Crossfeed circuit but to summarize, crossfeed slightly mixes the left and right channels to better approximate "speaker-like" listening through headphones. When a sound is localized to only one channel, that sound becomes unnaturally noticeable and fatiguing. Likewise, three "blobs" of sound are created left, right and center (sounds common to both channels image center). With the crossfeed engaged, the headphone produces a more natural pan of the soundstage (or "headstage" as folks in these parts often dub it).

So why three settings then? Psychoacoustics is a somewhat individual experience. Not only are we each physically a little bit different but we are shaped by our experiences. Someone quite accustomed to headphone listening may prefer a different level of crossfeed than someone used to live performances or speakers. I've also found that for some recording (rock and pop especially), so much mixing and reverb effects are used that strange echoey artifacts can be heard on the higher settings. For this reason, I choose the low crossfeed filter for heavily mixed recordings. The medium setting is more appropriate for most jazz and classical that have a more natural presentation and I reserve the high setting only for older recordings with extremely unnatural (and often experimental) stereo effects (old Beatles, Stones and Doors recordings sometimes place a single instrument exclusively in left channel, for example).

Not everyone agrees that crossfeed is a good thing. One could easily argue that the sharpest edge of focus and articulation is slightly sacrificed to the channel blending. For those people and for doing comparisons to other headphone amps or for listening to binaural recordings (the best way to listen to headphones!), the stereo option is still provided. For my taste, the Meier crossfeed is so close to transparency that there is rarely ever a time in which I would choose to leave it off.

The only thing that might dissuade you from calling the Meier crossfeed transparent is a slight perceived bass drop when moving from the stereo position to crossfeed positions. Meier says this is a psychoacoustic phenomenon. Bass frequencies simply seem "louder" when they're heard exclusively in one channel or the other. To test this theory, Meier recommends switching while playing a mono recordings. I couldn't find any in my own collection, but I'll take his word for it.

Technically, this is the same crossfeed circuit found in the HA-1 with the only exception being a resistor upgrade to metal film Vishays.

Volume Control

The largest knob is the renowned Alps Blue potentiometer. This is the same volume control as found in the Corda HA-1, HeadAmp Gilmore, Sugden Headmaster and countless DIY amps--a fan favorite as far as pots go. It is a smooth volume control and there's not much to complain about here other than the longing for an upgrade option of a stepped attenuator.

Source Selection

The rightmost rotary switch selects one of four source inputs. I noticed from the pictures on the web site that a long shaft was not used to switch sources as I commonly see in preamps. When asked about this, Meier said that the signal has to travel to the front of the amp either way so the effective signal path is not increased. Using a shaft would have only increased the cost and complexity of the amp. The pathways are independently fed across the top of the PC board so no electronic switching is necessary.

The back panel of the Corda tells a simpler story. IEC port on the far left (so that any cable may be utilized) and a power switch next door near the actual transformer. Far left is the preamp output with four sets up inputs to the immediate right. The final set of jacks is a simple pass through so that whatever source plugged into the fourth input may be passed on to another headphone amp, home theater pre/pro, tape deck or whatever else.

The jacks are of a generic gold plated variety. While I do admire Meier's attempts to keep the price down, I switch cables enough myself to wish for higher quality jacks such as the Dayton Audio jacks found on HeadAmp.Com's amp or the pricier Cardas jacks found on HeadRoom's lineup. Sonically, I'm not convinced that any difference could justify the higher price of the jacks and truthfully the most important part of the jack is an excellent soldering job of which I have a great deal of confidence in. Personally, I'd have been willing to pay a little extra for better jacks but the merits are certainly debatable.

NOT Included

My hope was that the crossfeed would be able to be passed on via either the pre out or pass through. This would have been ideal for experimenting with crossfeed with my own AudioValve RKV (OTL tube amp) or passing crossfeed on to a Stax (electrostatic headphone) amplifier. Alas, it seems Meier has a passive crossfeed filter in its on stand alone box in development to serve such tasks.

Also noticeably absent is a remote control. For me this isn't such an issue since I seem to set the source and volume and leave it for long durations. For others, a remote is crucial especially in a preamp that is more likely to be located in a rack with the rest of an audio system. Again, Meier has taken the purist approach of keeping it affordable and simple. Those who can't live without a remote will be left to consider the Sugden Headmaster, Meier's closest natural competitor. (For my habits, the crossfeed feature of the Preamp alone far outweighs the usefulness of the Headmaster's remote control but to each his own).

Sonic Performance

I have a feeling the regulars around here scrolled down to this section immediately. Let's get on with it, then. The Prehead absolutely rocks and has become my favorite of all headphone amps. If somehow you'd convinced yourself to wait for my thumbs up to pull the trigger, you should be firing off an email by now.

I'd mentioned in the HeadAmp.com Gilmore review that the Gilmore and Prehead sounded quite similar to me despite their very different design philosophies (Prehead employs the LM6171 opamp, the Gilmore uses discrete components).

In lieu of good manners, I'll quote the excerpt from the Gilmore review so you'll not have to recover it yourself:

Quote:

I can't tell you how hard it is to find an amp that can get the drums, cymbals AND the piano right. The lower registers of a piano simply sound "wrong" to me on most equipment. I guess it's a matter of not having the bass extension needed to believably pull off the secondary harmonics or some other gibberish I wouldn't understand, but the fact remains that a piano is simply very hard to be convincing. And then you have cymbals -- they have to be sharp and sweet at the same time, fast on the attack but smooth on the decay. Drums you want to be tight with a hard bottom, enough impact and raw bass strength but with a real fleshy sounding skin.

Vs. HeadAmp.Com Gilmore

As good as the Gilmore was, the Prehead was right there with it. The amps were nearly indistinguishable on my lowly ART DI/O. Moving up to the heavily modified Sony XA777ES, the differences became more apparent, but only barely. Namely, the Prehead possessed a certain hardness in the treble region where the Gilmore was smooth. Luckily this hardness seemed to smooth itself out as the amplifier burned in. The other differences was that the lower mids of the Prehead were ever so slightly more full and liquid giving the lower registers of string instruments and ambient effects like running water a more realistic.

It remains to be seen whether future iterations of the Gilmore amp will surpass the Prehead. I suspect it will if enough money is thrown at parts for the Gilmore. For now, I can only say this: If you only have $500 and don't care about crossfeed, the Gilmore is a great choice. If you're willing to spend a little more for the crossfeed filter, crossfeed filter and professional casework, the Prehead holds it own.

Vs. Corda Blue

As mentioned earlier, the Corda Blue was the result of a modification project by KurtW. It involved replacing the LM6171 opamp with the OPA637, adjusting the voltage, using FETs as current sources, power supply upgrades and parts upgrades throughout. See the Corda HA-1/Corda Blue review for more information on that.

In short, the Corda Blue was a nice upgrade from the stock Corda HA-1. Where I found the stock Corda to be slightly grainy, the Blue was extremely smooth and refined.

The Prehead picks up where the Corda Blue left off. It's smoother still, extremely linear, dynamic and articulate. The speed of the Prehead is so noticeably quicker than the Corda Blue that a part of me has to wonder, "How'd he do that?" As Kurt would say, it's hard to beat a complete redesign and I'd agree that it's not exactly a fair fight. Still, one has to wonder if Meier's chip based current source actually betters the FETs of the Corda Blue.

Bass is stronger too which is particularly curious to me. The iteration of the Corda Blue I have uses dual OPA634 buffers which seemed to increase the bass response slightly over the HA-1. The Prehead uses triple buffers, but Meier says that because in the Prehead the buffers are placed inside the feedback loop that the opamp itself is more responsible for the sound of the amp.

Opamps

And what about that opamp? It sounded somewhat grainy with the HA-1 but is the furthest thing from with the Prehead. Meier likened the LM6171 to a Diva: "Treat her well and she sounds gorgeous. Treat her badly and she will sound harsh and grainy." Meier went on to explain that the opamp is prone to oscillation and very sensitive to operating conditions such as a stable power supply, class A bias, output buffers, etc.

When I preordered my Prehead, I decided to take the chef's word. Meier warns, however, that the LM6171 is extremely transparent and for this reason offers an option of the AD8610 opamp for a slightly softer and more forgiving sound. I've not had opportunity to make this comparison myself but the AD8610 sure made the META42 sing.

Corda HA-2?

In more direct competition with Kurt's "Blue" mods, a scaled down version of the Prehead in old HA-1 enclosure was recently announced and dubbed HA-2. Retailing at $560, this might be something to consider for those who don't need the preamp functionality or excessive power for those K1000s. Meier says he has trouble telling the HA-2 from the Prehead on the HD600 and DT931 headphones, but I've not yet had the luxury of hearing one for myself.

Vs. AudioValve RKV II

The RKV is my old favorite. I was ecstatic when Meier began carrying the RKV knowing that other people would soon be able to hear this excellent amp. Now I'm picking another amp as my favorite and some of you may be thinking I'm prone to hype and being fickle.

What can I say, the RKV has a headstage like no other amp. Combine that with a slightly rolled off top and slightly soft but authoritative and smooth presentation with killer bass and you have one of the most relaxing amps on the planet.

What you don't have is the most accurate amp on the planet. The RKV is simply excellent for what it is but when you get down to low level comparisons, the Prehead is simply so much faster, more detailed and focused that when paired with an awesome source, I actually like the Prehead better.

Oh don't worry about the old RKV. Some might consider a bump to my bedroom a demotion but I'd rather just call it a different kind of intimacy. (Get your mind out of the gutter, vandit. You can love your amps but don't LOVE your amps.)

Simply put, as relaxing as the RKV can be, I prefer the Prehead for critical listening.

Meier Audio's New Paradigm

Meier says developing a headphone amp that could also be used as a high quality preamp has been on his mind for a long time but it's only been recently that he's had the time to devote to the design. Undoubtedly, Meier is enjoying his own Prehead in combination with that over the top opamp based power amp whose blueprints resides on his web site.

But blueprints are becoming a thing of the past with Meier audio. Meier says the Prehead has a few tricks of her own and while he likes to share his hobby, he's going to have to protect his financial interests to keep Meier-Audio alive. With so many DIYers going commercial of late, I can't say this surprises me.

Also gone are the kits of yesterday. Meier says the HA-1 was already too complex for most people and the Prehead is so complicated that the first handful (including mine) had to be assembled by Meier personally. Knowing Dr. Meier's attention to detail, I took a little extra pleasure in knowing mine was built by the man himself.

The obsessive nature of audio upgraditis is never ending. While the Prehead is my favorite amp today, I know it's only a matter of time before something even better somehow manages to unseat it. I asked Meier if he'd be offering a more over the top headphone amp than this one (balanced, dual mono, etc.) and his reply was that the increase in costs and complexity are simply not worthwhile to him. As it is, the Prehead is revealing enough to easily distinguish even cable differences--another product line Meier plans to launch in the near future.

Hopefully this will also mean that Meier can eventually get around to commercializing a power amp design. If so, maybe I'll finally be able to move away from that old home theater receiver of mine and use the Prehead to drive some serious speaker listening. As it stands now, I'll have to leave the reviews of the Prehead's preamp sonic performance for someone else.

One final note...
First, thanks for reading. I know there are a handful of you guys who actually read my lengthy reviews in whole and I do appreciate the opportunity to share in this hobby in my own way. Normally, that's thanks enough to me. However, I took a few liberties and did things a little differently this time and if you actually read the whole thing, please let me know what you think of this style of review. Thanks.

 

[taoster]

hi kelly, thank you for taking the time to do the much anticipated review.

I have a few questions. In regards to the preamp function. is the preamp using the same circuitry as the headphone circuitry and how does it compare with commercial preamps? The other question is, can both headphone socket be used simutaneously? will the quality suffer if it was used simutaneously?

what is the dimension and weight of the amp?

 

[HappymaN]

Kelly, in regards to your review style...

I always enjoy reading your reviews - they are extremely well written, and I appreciate the occasional joke (The Corda Blue / Turkey and Cheese joke had me giggling), but, and yes, there is always a but:

I've personally found that your reviews always contain a rather lengthy preamble, but lack depth in the description of the components on a sonic level. Perhaps you could mention specific recordings, and how they sound with the components. Basically, I'd prefer to hear more about how the amplifier sounds, rather than how thick the face plate is, and the same old paragraph on the benefits of crossfeed, and the perceived bass roll off. Understand what I mean, or am I just rambling?

All in all though, and interesting read. Thanks mate.

 

[HarHar]

Taoster:

Here is the weight and size of the PreHead:

2.4 kg.

22.4 x 23.1 x 8,4 cm.

Both sockets can be used simultaneously - I did not hear a difference in sonic quality (HD600 on the 0 Ohm and DT 931 on the 120 Ohm socket compared to either headphone alone).

The quality of the preamp is simply superb. I switched immediately to the PreHead (I had one of Jans older preamp designs before - see the projects section of the homepage of Meier Audio). This, in turn was a big leap forward from the Naim and Cyrus Amps I previously owned.

Building the PreHead is "Chefsache", he builds all of them himself. And it is really true that this is a really difficult task. No way for offering this preamp as a kit.

 

[Flasken]

Wow what an awesome and indulging review. Thanks alot kelly!

about your "style"..

While thorough analyzing of the sound may seem like an interesting part of a review to some, it is not at all that important to me. I like hearing about the quality of the build, the thickness of the faceplate and so on, just because we are gear-nuts and like materialistic things...

And the fact that you started the sonic impressions in such an enthusiastic way was very enjoyable. Overall, I simply found your review very entertaining. Your enthusiasm for sound reproduction shines through all the way through, and it's awesome!!!

 

[Flasken]

one more thing: (this really amazed me)

After having read the review I thought it was about two pages long - it felt like that because it was so indulging. - Then I scrolled up to have a look and it was way longer than that. I copied it into msword, 8 pages!!! WOW! I don't think I've ever read a review that long from beginning to end.. There must be something greatly immersive about your writing style.

 

[TravelLite]

A very informative review, kelly. Frankly, I found it more coherent and an easier "read" than the vast majority of the professional audio print reviews I see now-a-days.

Your conclusions supply further confirmation that really, really cool things come from Meier Audio.

TravelLite

 

[kelly]

taoster
"As it stands now, I'll have to leave the reviews of the Prehead's preamp sonic performance for someone else." I did not use the Prehead as a preamp. Both headphone jacks may be used simultaneously but the 120ohm jack will seem to be of a slightly different volume and the pot controls the volume of both. A simply Y adapter could be used to split the volume of the 0ohm jack and there is more than adequate power to drive two headphones. If they're of the same model headphone the volume level will be the same for both phones and quality loss should be negligible.

Thanks for the constructive criticism. Some quick replies to some of the criticism so far:
1. Reference material - I don't include reference material even though some people like it. I feel that reference material is too alienating, abrupt and distracting and that it also draws unintended biases from the reader toward certain genres and recordings. I listen to all genres of music so I feel quite confident by the time I write a review in that I have heard the full frequency response and that I have created most of the situations in which the amp should perform (classical crescendos, a single jazz cymbal crash, harmonically complex instruments, etc.). I'm sorry that some of you prefer references but since this is one of my philosophies and a personal bias I'm allowed to push via my reviews, I'm not likely to change it.

2. Sonic components - I talked to zzz about this last night also. I was confused at first because I'd spoke to sonic performance at such length. What I did not do, however, is break the sonic components into an easily digestable "list" to include: bass, mids, treble, etc. Rather, I depended on the reader to read through all of my amplifier comparisons in order to discern the overall tonality of the amp. I felt that even though some readers may be unfamiliar with the amps that speaking about other high quality amps comparatively could give you an overall idea of the amp's sound and that a comparative statement is more useful than an absolute one. (After all, the Corda HA-1 and Corda Blue seem quite fast with great bass response and extension compared to an MG Head. It's only when the Prehead enters the competition that the HA-1 and Blue begins to look less perfect.)

However, if breaking down the sonic performance into simple tonal components would make it easier to guage the overall idea of the amp's sound then I could do it this way instead and simply include any comparative statements within the sonic performance headings. I realize not everyone is going to sift through the entire length of my reviews so it is important that people are able to get to the meat of what they're looking for. Do you guys think this would be easier?

3. Full descriptions of the features such as crossfeed, etc. I feel are important to the accessibility of the review to new Head-Fi'ers and people visiting the site for the first time. If you knew nothing of Head-Fi and typed in "Corda Prehead Review" in google, I'd like to think this one might come up for you a year from now. I know some of this information is boring to you guys who already know it and I tried to label each section well enough that you could skip the information you were already well aware of. Is the labeling of the sections not distinct enough?

4. The actual reason I asked for feedback on this review is that I'd added a different kind of content. Normally my reviews are purely subjective. For this review, I'd contacted Meier a few times to explain certain aspects and what the thoughts were behind them. This is demonstrated in sentences like, "Meier says..." or "According to Meier..." I felt that this might be more informative and interesting but worried it might also be distracting. Stereophile's writers commonly incorporate interview information into reviews and I sometimes find that effective as long as it is kept in layman's terms. I tried to not become TOO technical in this review but since learning a little bit of the technology is interesting to me, I thought I'd experiment with the style. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[jpelg]

Nice job, kelly. I really feel that I can glean a "real-world" impression from your reviews and writing style.

I do have a couple of questions:

1. What are your comparative impressions when using the PreHead with high-impedance cans (ie. Senn HD600's) and low-impedance cans (ie. Grado's)?

2. The whole op-amp choice has me wavering. You did mention the comparison to the AD8610 in the META42, so I assume that you got one with the more analytical LM6171? If you can expand on your impessions with regard to that, it would be helpful in making a decision.

Thanks again for taking the plunge for us and making the time to write such a well-done review.

-j

 

[Anders]

Impressive review! I read all eight pages because I am especially interested in this amplifier. It has a clear structure so those less interested can easily jump over some sections for an incomplete review.
Maybe you should have mentioned something about the musical material used, for those who don't know you, as broad coverage of genres. I don't miss specific references as Miles trumpet on track X at album Y, sometimes this only becomes an unanalysed compilation of listening notes. Direct comparison with other components is most valuable to me. I especially appreciate that you also compared them with regard to the quality of the source.
I am grateful that there are people who have an opportunity to test many of the best components and share the experience.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by jpelg Nice job, kelly. I really feel that I can glean a "real-world" impression from your reviews and writing style.

Thanks. I took some efforts to spell check.

Quote:

1. What are your comparative impressions when using the PreHead with high-impedance cans (ie. Senn HD600's) and low-impedance cans (ie. Grado's)?

The Grado HP-1 is my favorite dynamic headphone. It is faster, cleaner, more detailed and has a "flatter" sounding frequency response than any other dynamic phone I've heard. The combination of the HP-1, Prehead and modded XA is extremely realistic compared to other headphone rigs. I regret having to say such things since the HP-1 is no longer sold. It irritates me to "recommend" components that are difficult to acquire.

The HD600 hangs onto its signature sound and flaws -- slower, sloppier in the bass response, a little rolled off in the extreme bass, a little recessed in the vocal region and a little harsh and peaky in the extreme higher treble--this is still my impression with the Cardas cable. I know not everyone agrees with my assessment of the HD600 but I feel I've heard it on enough amps, sources and recordings and at length that I have a qualified opinion. And yet, I still choose to listen to it. It has a smooth relaxing midrange that's difficult to beat. With the Prehead and XA777ES, the HD600 is far more detailed and tight than I imagine most people would ever imagine but still feels like a compromise compared to the HP-1. With the crossfeed engaged, I imagine most people would find the HD600/Prehead combination to be stunning. I'm simply afforded the luxury of nitpicking.

Quote:

2. The whole op-amp choice has me wavering. You did mention the comparison to the AD8610 in the META42, so I assume that you got one with the more analytical LM6171? If you can expand on your impessions with regard to that, it would be helpful in making a decision.

There is a section of the review under an italic heading "Opamps" if you want to look for it. I do have the LM6171 version and although I've heard the AD8610 in the META42, I don't think the comparisons can be so easily distilled. Jude has the AD8610 version of the Prehead and I look forward to his comments.

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Thanks Kelly ... an awsome job (as usual)!!!

I found this review to be your best yet and did notice the "inside" information. It had me wondering ... "How'd he do that?" ... as it sounded like you had many interesting chats with Jan.

I like to read the entire review as I find the physical comments as revealing as the sonic ones. Especially useful to me are your comparison's with other equipment at similar levels. For example, comparing the Prehead to the Corda HA-1 and Corda Blue really are useful to me as I have the HA-1 and need information that will help make a decision on whether, and how, to upgrade. That said, I wouldn't turn down some additional, more specific, details on how it sounds in the bass/mid/high ranges and although it doesn't have to be directly related to popular music that does make it easier for someone with the same music understand what you're trying to say.

I know it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to write a review like this. The actual writing - as time consuming as it is - is probably only a small fraction of the total time used to burn-in, setup, test, compare, etc, etc.

For all your efforts I just want to say "THANKS!"

Gord.

 

[kwkarth]

Kelly,
Excellent review. Well written, entertaining, engaging, and informative.
Thanks man! I want one!

 

[Hirsch]

Excellent review kelly! It gave me all the essential information I wanted about the pre-head, and, even without specific examples, gave me a reasonable expectation of its sound.

 

[grinch]

most people's reviews i just kinda skip through a lot of the detailed parts and attempt to get "the just" of it.

i read your reviews fully and completely. i think it helps that you seem to have similar tastes when it comes to amps and components, but i also just truly enjoy your writing. thanks for the well-written review.