I was impressed by my "new" amp, pleased at it's transformation but I wasn't in love with it until...I was listening to some Ricky Lee Jones (Geffen) tonight, with the pot turned up high and I realized something was going on,;something very intense (it's called music!). I was listening farther into it and enjoying revisiting an album that had not tuned me on before. All sorts of things were going on all over the place (good recording) and I listened from beginning to end without any criticism going on in my head. I still can't understand half of what she is singing...I love her but she has terrible diction! So at around 300 hours this little amp has reached its sweet spot, is playing in the comfort zone and making a hell of a job pretending to be a big, ballsy, hi-fa-looting, music machine. Good gracious, talk about detail and sound-staging and all the rest. I'm speechless. (well not quite) I still can't make out where to place this. It's not tubes and it's not your usual solid state. It certainly sounds nothing like the Tripath chip amps I've had. Anyway this one is a keeper and I think some better cables are going to take it even further. I have heard negative comments about ICE-based amps and they certainly don't apply to mine. I got lucky. I have a really high-class vol. control and obviously Cullens have some magic circuitry. I have had a lot of amps over the years, some good, some bad, and I'm pretty sure this is the best I've ever owned. I can't write a detailed review and anyway there's no point since this is a one-off piece. Voila, verr nice indeed.
