best preamp ever - cost is no object

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.

I've read this thread pretty closely and I am surprised I haven't seen these 3 preamps listed, well almost.one is listed but before Albert Porter helped take it to the next level.

I haven't heard them but they are on my short list of components I will make sure I hear before making a decision.

Aesthetix Callisto
Nick Doshi's Alaap
& Raul's Essential 3150

I think it was W.C. Fields who said I wish I was in Philidelphia !

So the Beat goes On.

Best regards

Groovey Records

Listening to

Get your Ya-Yas Out -The Rolling Stones- French Decca FFrr Pressing 278 023

Every pre-amp does have its own character no matter how minor it is. Here's my rankings:

On the SS side #1. CTC Blowtorch #2. Lyra Connoisseur 4-2 SE, #3 Boulder 2010.

Now on the tube side:
#1 VTL 7,5. #2 Aesthetix Io Sig MKII with volume controls and additional high input via XLR or RCA. #3 the beautiful Wyetech Opal. #4 Wavestream pre-amp sounds like it got everything right.With phonos in all I could live with several of these. #5 CJ ART-2

My second SS tier is the #1 Daartzeel, #2 ASR Emmitters (intergrated) ans the #3 Boulder 2010 as great SS pre-amps. #4 EMM/DAC

Second tier Tube pre-amp are: #1, ARC Ref 3 mk??, #2, Conrad- Johnson ART-2,

Special considerations: Manley Steelhead MK II, Dood pre-amp, Graaf pre-amps

You really could do well wsith these.

cheers, GerryM5

Coming back to the initial question: Dynaudio Arbiter is a very very special pre-amp to. Made to order only, very expensive and very flexible. The afore mentionned ASR is a very nice product but funny wise its reputation in the US is much higher than in Germany the land of its origin. To me its to slow and to warm in sound (but thats a matter of taste) and detail retrieval and transparency is a lot better with VTL, Ayon, Boulder or FM Acoustics gear.

Mr. Tennis: would be interesting to know how good old Mac would have played his 1984 Wimbledon final against current Roger Federer - would have been a very close call - but then you have to consider Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg as well..

In response to the initial thread, there is no universal best due to individual taste.

Same with the tennis analogies. "My" opinion is that Agassi was the best, although Laver would make for a great discussion. I base my decision on the fact that Tennis is played on grass, clay and cement. If you are truly the best of the best, you should be able to win on all surfaces. Only Agassi has won all 4 of the Slams on different surfaces. Borg never won the US Open on cement. Connors, McInroe, Sampras never won the French on clay. Federer is something special and still has a shot at the French. Laver had no choice back then as there was only 2 surfaces, grass and clay, but he is 1 of only 2 men to ever win the Grand Slam and only "he" did it twice. Agassi/Laver, now that would be a good discussion. Someone may come around and win the French 25 times in a row but I wouldn't consider him the best IMO.