best preamp ever - cost is no object

i don't think think a "best" preamp exists and what difference does it make if it did ?

one is still motivated by one's sonic preferences regardless of what may be considered "best" by audio experts.

is there a best wine, a best movie, a best restaurant, a best wife ?

if there is, it is subjectively determined and may be useful when having a philosophical discussison.

i will take your example of tennis first, frankpiet.

roger federer is not the best vollyer in tennis. he doesn't have the fastets serve. he has won more slams than anyone else and he is a wonderful athlete. i think john mcenroe in his prime would have beaten roger federer on the faster grass at wimbledon during the 80's. the point is how do you define the best tennis player ??

back to audio, there is build quality and there is performance, i.e., sound. there is no bets sound. once you define "best" i can offer another definition. it is subjective. i prefer beauty over truth, so i think a somewhat colored sound is better than a more neutral sound.

how can you argue a philosophical question that has no answer. the idea of best is a philosophical concept it cannot be based entirely on facts.

hi onemug:

if sampras were to consistently beat agassi on grass, split evenly with agassi on hard surfaces and lose consistently on clay, what would you say. you have to look at head to head competition. the grand slam theory does not work.

for example, lets say agassi won a grand slam, but lost to one player every time he played him. would agassi still be the better player ?? i think there are too many variables to determine what is best in any endeavor, from tennis, to art, to cars, etc. . there is no best in life, with respect to any subject.

hi tbg:

as i said in an earlier post i auditioned both the preamp and the amp in my own stereo system, which at the time included the magnepan 2.7 . yes, i heard the clarity, but i also heard a typical transistor sound.

it's not about convincing, its about hyping. a word to the wise is always sufficient.

a statement of its clarity and soundstage capability would have been sufficient, without the verbal histrionics.

hi tbg:

i understand that you feel that the h cat is your favorite preamp. how can you say that it has no peer.

i think that asserting that a product is better than its competition is not helpful. you haven't auditioned every preamp that is in current production and yet you make a statement which is so subjective.

wouldn't it be more realistic to say "the h cat is my favorite preamp because........"

by the way if someone prefers a tube sound, why would he/she want to audition the h cat, which, i heard several years ago in my own system. i'm glad you like it, but it sounds like a typical solid state preamp. i heard the preamp with its companion amp.

hi tbg:

i think it would be useful to say why you like the solid state p 12 r so much. what does "wow go listen to it mean" ?

if i like tube products because they have a certain character, would i want to hear the p 12r and why ? again, less hype, ambiguity and more facts and descriptions is most useful/

hi tbg:

what is the point of this discussion ? i'll give it a rest if you do. you can have the last word. you certainly are entitled your opinion, but your carrying on about this subject makes no sense and proves nothing.

hi frankpiet:

assessing talent in tennis is as subjective as assessing the merits of components and stereo systems. you are entitled to your opinion.

for the nth time, it is more useful to state the qualities of an amplifier that you consider laudable rather than to suugest that one will have to spend more money than the cost of an ayre to get a better amp. to my ears, i might be able to achieve what is in my opinion more favorable sound than i would get from having an ayre amp drive my mg 1.6 speakers, by spending less money than the cost of an ayre amp.

asking a question about what is the best, when the answer is subjective, is really a rhetorical question.

what is the value of a specific answer ?