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Okay the new preamp has been installed, fired up, and given its first good listen. Any discussion of the Allnic has to start with my amp, the Maker Audio Reference 2a stereoblock. The amp is the most preamp sounding piece of power I've ever encountered. It is ruthlessly true to the source. So every crappy cd or lp I own sounds like either dirt or shards of glass. Of course if the recording is beguiling then I am entranced; if the cd is like clarified butter then I get all the detail in a lush background. It's biggest strength is detail retrieval, and of course at 375 WPC it has prodigious grunt.
The Allnic is one of those thoroughly modern preamps that are tubed, but not really tubey sounding. Oh, there's definitely the tonal and textured emphasis of tubes, but none of that goes overboard. Rather what it excels most at is dimensionality. It elongates the soundstage front to back and fills in any authenticity that seems to be missing. Woodwinds are more true their reediness. Drum thwacks are sharpened but the hollowness of the bass drum remains intact. There is an increase in lushness but think the smallest increase one would normally notice. It is a welcome addition for me. Everything including the dirt and the glass feels more exact without being "exacting".
The Allnic is one of those thoroughly modern preamps that are tubed, but not really tubey sounding. Oh, there's definitely the tonal and textured emphasis of tubes, but none of that goes overboard. Rather what it excels most at is dimensionality. It elongates the soundstage front to back and fills in any authenticity that seems to be missing. Woodwinds are more true their reediness. Drum thwacks are sharpened but the hollowness of the bass drum remains intact. There is an increase in lushness but think the smallest increase one would normally notice. It is a welcome addition for me. Everything including the dirt and the glass feels more exact without being "exacting".