If boulder is tops what is second tier?


If we would assign A++ to boulder, what phono preamps rate as A+?
What would be considered just a notch below the boulder?
Would this include: the Manley steelhead, the Aesthetix IO signature, ASR Basis Exclusive mark II, the BAT VKP10SE super pack, the Einstein?
What others belong to this group or which of these doesn't?
pedrillo

Showing 2 responses by rmaez7216

It seems that the only person who read my post carefully and understood exactly what I said was Raul.

Very simply: cables can affect the sound of the audio passing through them via their unique characteristics, however they should never affect the operation of electronics if those electronics are properly engineered. If the function of an amplifier is changed because of the cable attached to it, then the amp has either been designed with a specific cable in mind and should ONLY be used with that cable, or it is an unstable product.

For those who wonder what audio cables we think are the most neutral, we really don't go looking. We're not in the cable evaluation business. Most of the sonic changes wrought by any sort of cable and its internal winding are inversely proportional, meaning that as one goes up, another goes down, etc. Because of that, the choice of cable is really user dependent - we all pick our favorites.

How do we do measurements? Everything is connected directly to a variac and tested on the bench. AC is supplied at either 50 or 60 Hz only, so there would be no issues regardless of what is used to carry power as long as it does not limit current delivery.

Power cables: most products do not build line conditioning and filtration into the AC line input sections of their products. We do. We have extremely high common mode rejection in our power supply designs, so there is little that a power cord can achieve with our designs other than greater possible current delivery if a smaller gauge cable had been used. We believe that any product that claims to be of high performance should take external factors into account (and in the real world, not just on paper) as well as internal operation, thus we do everything that we can to eliminate the need for external tweaks. For what you're paying, it should be optimized right out of the box.
Interesting stuff, all, until the topic veered off into other subjects.

There are a number of things that were likely said at CES (and what in the world, exactly, was a consumer doing at CES, and why in the world was someone attempting to grasp sound quality at a trade show?!?) that were or could have been misconstrued, none of which really needs to be gotten into too deeply here. Suffice it to say, there are a number of things regarding the engineering of electronics that should prevent them from being affected by the cables connecting them. That's not to say that every cable, whether power or analog or digital, is not a filter - that's exactly what they are due to a number of things in their makeup, such as capacitance, inductance, etc. If a product is properly engineered, it shouldn't care less what's used to connect it and the given product's response should remain stable with any reasonably designed cable. Any changes in sound are simply the losses, omissions, or distortions of that particular conductor's filter characteristics and should NOT be the result of a cable's electrical characteristics affecting the electrical operation of a piece of gear. Some affect things much less than others. None, if designed by someone with any degree of technical knowledge, should be life altering. If anyone wants any further explanation, feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below.

As for what manufacturer makes first, second, third, or last tier products, simply look at the number of products listed by the respondents - there is no Holy Grail and just about every product will have a following. Judge and listen with your own ears and ignore the preferences of others, especially those based on emotion and not rationale. Your own ears are, after all, the only ones you should be concerned with satisfying. Listen to what your ears tell you to listen to.

Cheers, guys, and relax.

Rich Maez