Best Of

Sure has a lotta knobs.

Not my idea of cheap, either -- but, then again, it's kind of like saying "I want a Lexus, but I wanna spend way less money. How's this Chevy look?"

More to the point -- looks like a guitar amp guy's idea of a hifi (pre)amp.
The design considerations for an amp used to create music vs. one to reproduce music are nearly diametrically opposed. I'd wanna hear one before plunking down $.
Look for resales on the aftermarket and, if you find any, see what the going prices are like.
I'm guessing they might not retain value too well.
That said, it's probably ruggedly built

Heck at this point in time, the street value of the tubes in it probably dwarfs the cost of the preamp!

Doc, his preamp is under 600 bucks, that is cheap. Lots of knobs indeed, for tone controls of both channels, if you're into those things. His main gig is guitar amps, but I believe his build philosophy is to recreate that vintage tube sound. I do know he builds them to order and will change up parts as requested.

Are these going to sound like a Cary/Joule/Vac/CJ , probably not. My guess is the sound might mimic those old tube amps from those 70's consoles. Which, some sounded pretty darn good, a little rounded at the extremes but hey, ya get what ya pay for right. Change a few caps, better tubes, and you might have a decent tubed pre with a phono for a good price.

a report from the field on one of these preamps @tonyb courtesy of someone @ AK:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/frenzel-xps72-tube-pre-amp.983656/
Sounds like the guy likes it.

I’m a little late to the party. I’ve owned the Frenzel spx72 pre amp for a while now and it is worth every cent. Build quality is top notch, and it sounds amazing. I was so impressed with it that ai pulled the trigger on their integrated amp the ss-4772. It should arrive any day now.

treitz3 wrote: »

With the addition of some new cables, I have been slowly readjusting the subs back to the room and mains, enjoying the hell out of a plethora of music along the way.

At this point, the Rythmik subs are barely even on anymore but I am very close to being back to that perfect balance. I'm just glad that I don't need to do the human pretzel to adjust them anymore. That helps tremendously.

Tom

So, the new cables actually prompted me to take another look at speaker placement. Today, I started once again at minor adjustments that made a major difference to the end result as to what hits my ears.

Some of you may be famliar with Romy the Cat. I have never heard of him before but was introduced to him via an hour long video and throughout the entire video about dead zone of something or other, he had mentioned that if you change a cable or component, you need to revisit the speaker placement again.

I had pretty much already come to that conclusion but hearing it from someone else, well...it prompted me to revisit this.

The speakers had been in place for well over 2 years and I have made a plethora of changes in the system along the way but these cables, for some reason, excited certain frequencies within the lower regions more than expected within the room. Especially after breaking in.

I adjusted the subs to the mains and the room...but at a certain frequency? Something happened that was not, shall I say, "preferred". The bass heads would have loved it. I did not. At all.

So, today (since 7 this morning), I went about making a change and moving the mains.

At the end of the day? They only moved about an inch. That and they were toed out ever so slightly and then, pointed down.

I'll explain more as to why later but as I sit and listen now, 🎶

That anomaly is gone, the tonal balance is back in spades and there is no width restrictions, other than the recording itself. The sound simply envelops the room with no overponderance, anomalies or distractions once again.

Now back to listening without having to be critical. Just sit back, enjoy an adult drink and get sucked into the music...

Tom

I don't think it would be the best match with the 1.7i speakers.

In a large room Rel would only recommend a single S510 or dual T9x with the 1.7i speakers for music. The S812 I have is considerably more powerful than the S510s I have and easily overwhelms the main speakers. As a consequence I only run it at about 1/4 power to blend in with a pair of L800s which produce way more bass than the 1.7i speakers. The best matching of subwoofer(s) to main speakers is what's critical.

For a 3D system for home theater Rel recommends dual T9x matched and balanced to the 1.7i mains, and dual HT1205 MKII for home theater bass with one placed at the rear of the system and one anchoring the center speaker.