Tidal electronics...

I think this type of discourse starts when we use the term "best" and forget to include "to my ears" or "that I have heard" or "in my opinion" or "obviously others may prefer other types of (insert peice of equipment here)"...I would agree with the opinion that it should be about fun and sharing, but I also recognize not everyone thinks the same and so from time to time we end up debating the word "best"...

I don't always assume "in his own experience" is implied everytime someone uses "best" to describe a peice of equipment. I would agree there are times that is what is meant, but there are also times it is meant literally. If we wanted to avoid the debate altogether we could just say "my personal favorite" instead of "best" and remove the competitive nature of the word altogether...

I have no dog in this hunt, I was only commenting on why threads sometimes get into the attack and defend tone this one has in places.

I have not heard the Preos so I have no basis to describe it relative to anything else I have heard. There are several preamps I have heard that I really like, I bought the one I own now based on my enjoyment of it, but am under no delusion to the extent that I consider it "best" as I wouldn't even know what the rating system used to make such a determination would be. I just know I enjoy it immensely and if someone else should listen to the same pre and like it, good for them, if not, I could understand that too.

carry on and enjoy the listening!

Congrats Tbg! Where are you in TX?