A quality of performance that many makers can only barely imagine and ...

[Neil McCauley]

... probably haven't a clue how to approach – let alone equal or exceed. If one can't get a pair of ML6s then THIS is the one to get. A classic John Curl design. And yes, I am thinking of bidding.

http://bit.ly/kUHACW

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Howard, i'm listening to a JC designed power amp right now. It just shouldn't work too well with the speakers it's hooked to, but it does & very well to i might add :)

Parasound HCA1206 (http://www.parasound.com/vintage/hca1206.php) fed from an active crossover to totally rebuilt Yamaha NS1000M speakers which look nothing like the originals.

I'm not sure i like the look of that guys feedback :rolleyes: As you know though you can read between the lines & make more sense of it with a bit of time..

Best of luck if you decide to bid!

[StanleyB]

I'm not sure i like the look of that guys feedback :rolleyes: id!
What's wrong with his feedback :scratch:?

[Reid Malenfant]

What's wrong with his feedback :scratch:?
98.1% isn't too hot Stan, have you looked yourself? Maybe if it was UK based it wouldn't be to bad but i kind of up the ante when it comes to international transactions ;)

[Neil McCauley]

More on Mr. Curl …….

For what it’s worth, and I mention this without any possibility of validation whatsoever, in the early days of Musical Fidelity where Subjective Audio were there first and only retailer (as generously mentioned in Mr. Michelson’s Company biography) I was told that their very first product ‘The Pre’ was based on a JC design. The story was that an industry party AM invited JC to sketch out a state-of-the-art preamp circuit on, literally, the back of an envelope.

This is far from implausible. However as the years went by, AM varied his story re this from time to time. However undeniably the first batch of ‘The Pre’ that I purchased had a performance which for the time that was truly astonishing and was immediately more musically credible than anything I had at the time other than the ML 6a monos and the ML7a stereo.

I’m tempted to say that there was a recognizable house-sound between on the one hand the JC-designed ML products and ‘The Pre’. If there was, then I didn’t spot it. But it was ‘up there’ and sold in shed loads.

Would I be tempted to buy an original ‘The Pre’? Well the challenge for me is encapsulated in the word ‘original’. Products do ‘evolve’ – if you get my drift. And then there are well-intentioned DIYers who may have had a poke about. But I suspect that out there, in a loft somewhere, is an unmolested issue of ‘The Pre’ in a shabby case which might, just might be one of the finest sounds even by today’s standards. And it might, just might be based on a deceptively simple JC circuit.

[StanleyB]

98.1% isn't too hot Stan, have you looked yourself? Maybe if it was UK based it wouldn't be to bad but i kind of up the ante when it comes to international transactions ;)
One complaint, which I don't even accept as a valid complaint, out of 127 sales is not something to jump off the bridge for. I for one would not ship a 66lB item for $14.95.

[Reid Malenfant]

:lolsign: Ok, but what i'm saying is i look much more carefully at international transactions than i do UK based. It hasn't been proven yet but some kind of logic tells me that an international delivery has far more chance of going astray than a UK one.

Perhaps my logic is still keeping me at 100%+ feedback after over 5 years as a buyer, i don't know :scratch:

I have only lost out on a single transaction & that wasn't for a lot, i intend to keep it that way.

Have a pleasant evening Stan :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Anyway, back to the item in question..........
Pwhooar, yes please!
I share Howard's enthusiasm for this, and if the lolly was available to me at the moment, I'd be there too with a bid.

[Barry]

I'm 'watching this' and had I not already got an ML10A, would probably bid.

It's probably a lot better than the ML10A, and I like the on/off switch on the power supply. (Curious, as I though Levinson recommended their electronics be left powered up).

However I'm not sure if it is a John Curl design; Curl's involvement with Levinson ended with the ML-2 (formerly the JC-3). I though subsequent designs were made for Levinson by Tom Colangelo.

There is one aspect with which you should be aware. The preamp uses plug in modules designated: L2, L3 etc. These are epoxy-encapsulated units. Should any fault develop with them, they will be impossible to repair.

After my trial and tribulations with Mark Levinson preamps, I'm cautious.

Regards

[Neil McCauley]

I'm 'watching this' and had I not already got an ML10A, would probably bid.

It's probably a lot better than the ML10A, and I like the on/off switch on the power supply. (Curious, as I though Levinson recommended their electronics be left powered up).

However I'm not sure if it is a John Curl design; Curl's involvement with Levinson ended with the ML-2 (formerly the JC-3). I though subsequent designs were made for Levinson by Tom Colangelo.

There is one aspect with which you should be aware. The preamp uses plug in modules designated: L2, L3 etc. These are epoxy-encapsulated units. Should any fault develop with them, they will be impossible to repair.

After my trial and tribulations with Mark Levinson preamps, I'm cautious.

Regards

Thank you. This is VERY helpful and I'm now reconsidering. Once again, informed comment on AoS has proved its worth. Thanks again. Howard

[Effem]

There is one aspect with which you should be aware. The preamp uses plug in modules designated: L2, L3 etc. These are epoxy-encapsulated units. Should any fault develop with them, they will be impossible to repair.



One of my all time favourite pre-amps was made by Rappaport and they too had similar modules installed. Saw one for sale on ebay a while ago with a module missing at an optimistically high asking price and I reckon it would be easier to swim the Atlantic than find a replacement.

[nat8808]

Perhaps my logic is still keeping me at 100%+ feedback after over 5 years as a buyer, i don't know :scratch:



Nope...

It would be that buyers can't receive negative feedback! Therefore ALL buyers should have 100% feedback. It only reflects that you haven't sold anything..

Always pays to read what their -ve feedback is all about and certainly this guy should challenge his one -ve with Ebay. The buyer complains about shipping charges being high - not much the sellers fault.

Seems a good seller to me considering the praise from buyers for some high value kit he's sold!

[nat8808]

http://bit.ly/kUHACW

And auction ended early... that's a shame.

I bet he got a good offer outside of Ebay - quite usual for sought-after items like these and it ends up being a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them' as the rare item auctions disappear from under your nose - forced to make an offer yourself.