Thanks to everyone who came. We may have had the only choke shootout in audio history!
Amazing how everything in audio makes a difference, each choke had its own sonic signature, just like a cap. In the end the 10 henry oil choke was the winner in this particular setup, lots of air and great wet tone and body. As you dive deep into audio gear you see how you the consumer can alter the gear to your liking or disliking. We all need a Karl -in- a -can, to open up and let him rip.
Power supply is so important.
In the end Joe's preamp was by far the best IMO, the Melos sounded pretty damn good as well with its matching Melos amp.
The Modwright was pretty good as well, very listenable, the tube rectification helped with the classic MW problem of tone, bass was a bit off, a little too off balanced in the bass heavy department in my system.
The AN sounded pretty and relaxed, if it had a little more resolution and dynamics it would be my favorite.
The Beacon 2, it still needsd work, the Tungsol roundplates really helped alot, so maybe parts are an issue,
I guess not bad for $1000, but there are a lot of really good pre's out there used for a grand. It came out of the system rather quickly, the Hafler may have been better.
It was an interesting day!
Mike
