[Todd]

Wow!!! I miss a couple of days here and you guys really got down at each others throats over in the amp area.
First, the integrity and honor of Ray Samuals far excedes that of most manufacturers. It may have been a business mistake but there are 24 people who benefitted from that error (honor). Are they bad people for taking advantage of Ray? Of course NOT.
As for Tuberollers review, as always straight from his heart and ears. To question his integrity and honor just floors me.
As for the $2495 price, just look at any high end preamp and you'll find that anything anywhere close to it in build quality and sound quality will cost you far more - like 4K or more.
The driving force behind any manufacturer is profit. Gouging will result in a competitor coming in and selling one for less. Lets see how quickly this happens - I'm betting it won't. I am quite familiar with the markup both in the manufacturing stage as well as the retail stage and I assure you that the numbers are small here - not bloated or even equal to other manufacturers. $2495 for this preamp is a steal! I intend to use it in my main system with my $8000 Bluenote turntable. And my $4000 EAR 534 amp. And I expect it to fit rather nicely.
For those of you in other countries... I have a 30 day money back guarantee. I will allow extra time for you if need be. I am confident that if you are a tube fan that you will be keeping the amp and will make me come to you if I want to get it back.
I will delete any crap that ends up in this thread. It is not intended to be a continuation of the fight. It is intended to show my support for The Stealth, Ray , Tuberoller and others who did not take shots at the honor of these people. (Elrod-tom, John jcb etc)
So anyone want one at this great price?

Todd

 

[kentamcolin]

If you judge the Stealth as a $2495 headphone amp, it's not a good value, IMO. But, judge it as a preamp with headphone capability, it is a steal. And, you'd better have the bucks invested in the rest of your system to back it up. If you have or want to build a high definition system you absolutely cannot go wrong with the Stealth. In fact, it might be too good for the money. It might not be priced high enough to be taken seriously by some audio snobs, but that will be their loss.

 

[cpw]

I know Ray would be the first to admit that the Stealth is overkill as a dedicated headphone amp. I know this because he told me so. I decided to go w/ an HR-2 because it just had to be one of Ray's amps. I must admit, the thought of going w/ the Stealth then selling my wife's car to bankroll a pair of nice monoblocks did cross my mind.
CPW