Wonderful preamp. I have owned a Model 3 for around 2 yrs now and can say I am tremendously happy with it. It is, in addition, an incredible bargain. I bought mine for just under 900 used. Usually you can find them for less now. I do not have the one with the outboard power supply- that one is usually around 1500 used. You can upgrade the original for 600 from Muse. It has tremendous clarity, it is very quiet and most importantly, it does not color the source. Just what a preamp should have. It is one of the least expensive parts of my 2 channel system and it is definitely not a weak link. It's XLR options are also nice. I have not used the HT bypass function with it, but will as soon as I can afford the amplification I want for my HT system to equal my 2 channel system. Currently, it is very well matched with my Muse Model 5 transport, EAD 7000 MkIII D/A, Pass Aleph 2 monoblocks and B&W 804s. I can't say enough good things about this preamp. I do think you can find better, but you'll really have to spend ALOT more. To boot, K Halverson ( I can't remember if it's Ken or Kevin- the owner and chief designer, was really good answering my questions) He is very up with things and appears to be someone who really loves his work. Another victory for the less than megafamous great equipment makers. If you want to talk at all about the Model three, you can email me and we can talk. Happy listening. PS Audioreview has a couple of reviews on the Model 3 - one of them is mine.
Comments on the Muse Model 3
I have been really impressed by the quality of the Muse gear I have heard so far (very little unfortunately) despite the reasonable prices (which will definitely keep me as a customer). I haven't heard, or possibly more accurate to say "not heard" the Model 3. I want to have a stereo/HT combo whereby the processor has a bypass so I can send a signal from my transport either to the processor (for DVD) or to a dedicated stereo preamp (for CD). Any comments would be helpful. Regards