Dehavilland Ultra Verve Opinions ??

This is a preamp I'm very curious about myself. I just received an eXemplar Exception II which I'm very happy with, but the way the UltraVerve was designed to sound fits in with my taste.

When I asked about deHavilland preamps in another thread, I received e-mails from two different members with opposite views of the UltraVerve. I imagine they may have very different priorities as well, but still it's interesting and helpful to weigh their experiences against each other. Hopefully, they'll see this thread.

I believe this pre is wonderful. See my review.

I look forward to comparing it to other pres, especially octal based, like the Cary SLP98 and the Supratek Syrah. I have an audio friend near by who has the Syrah and I hope to do a head to head comparison soon.

Cheers

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rprea&1100468953&read&3&4&

I have owned my DeHavilland UltraVerve preamp for about 5 mos. now. I think it's great! It has ended a two year quest for the ultimate preamp that pleases my ears, and meshes seamlessly within my system.

Just like anything else, system synergy and listening preferences play huge rolls. Feed the UV the right 6SN7 tube and cabling and you will be rewarded.

In a few words, the UV helps portray a huge dimensional soundstage, excels with natural tonality, has awesome midrange, PRAT and dynamics, decent extension at the extremes, and most importantly, it is so darn MUSICAL and involving! Oh, btw, it is also very quiet.

I’ve had my Ultraverve for a week now, and fully agree with the above comments. I’ve owned a few tube preamps in the past, specifically a SF Line 3 & 1, and AI L1 and M3A. The UV jumps past the AI and Line 1 pres, and is more the equal of the Line 3. The difference being that the UV is more naturally full bodied and musical than the Line 3 without being overly ripe, rolled at the extremes, or lacking detail or transparency.

The simplicity of the UV is also appealing. The 5AW4 rectifier tube and 6AH4 cathode follower tubes are cheap relatively speaking, and NOS tubes are not in high demand. One 6SN7 serves both channels, so no need to buy expensively matched pairs. The tubes are driven very conservatively and should last a long time. The exposed 6SN7 makes experimentation easy.

My UV has the optional remote volume. If your amp is relatively sensitive, the volume range can be limited and make fine adjustments a little more difficult.

My system - RA Opus 21 > UV > CJ Premier 140 > VSA VR-4 GEN III SE, RSA Poiema cabling.