Well, here are my first 48 hs with the HE-1 Mkii preamp.
First, a little of context.
I have a dedicated AC line for the system + a Holton DC Blocker + an Audioquest Niagara 1200 + some decent power cords, so the AC feeding my system is not bad at all.
On the other hand, I have a Line Magnetic LM-508 integrated amp, with upgraded internal parts and pretty nice tubes. The LM-508 can be used as power amp, but it's not really a 100% power amp, and using it that way only bypasses the volume knob and I believe some small circuits inside, leaving active all of the tubes in the amp. In fact, many users of the LM-508 consider that using it as power amp (with good preamps like VAC for instance) only changes a bit how the LM-508 sounds, something I shared as it was my case with my AGD Master 1 preamp. With the M1 in the chain I felt the sound only became a little smoother and maybe a little more 3D than using the LM-508 as integrated, but not it was not a huge difference.
Considering what I said before, I bought the HE-1 just in case I wanted to upgrade to monoblocks in the future. I really really was not expecting a big difference replacing the M1 for the HE-1..... ....boy, I was wrong.
The M1 is a great preamp for the money, maybe one of the best at it's price point, but man, the HE-1 Mkii is incredible. I would summarize it as BRUTAL REALISM.
HE-1's resolution is unbelievable. Bass is utterly controled, mids are smooth as heaven and highs are incredible silky, but it's biggest strength is soundstage, without words to describe. I agree with everything Glenn Young mentions in his review of the orginal HE-1 in here:
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/amplifier/audio-gd-he-1-stereo-preamplifier-review/ and Kingwa said to me that the Mkii is considerably better. Now I believe him!
Again, BRUTAL REALISM.
Congratulations Kingwa for another incredible piece of gear!