Backert Labs

tonyb

I know some here have picked up a pre from them, how about sounding off and telling us how your getting along.

Still diggin' it ? Sound change some after breaking in ? Whats everyone pairing them with ? Comparisons to other pre's ? Anyone move up the ladder ?

Feed back gents, and maybe we can talk Andy into another round of demo's next spring.

I say next spring because nobody wants to be shipping stuff like this around during the holiday shipping frenzy.

GlennDog

U talk'n ta me?

R U talk'n ta me!!??

IIRC, there's just one other cat besides myself that owns one . . .
Long short. I cannot comment just yet, bc it's been a PFB cluster FFF of a summer!!
Unless you're into Debbie Downers, you do not want details

Good news is that I'll be getting the Rhumba back in a couple of weeks

Some history:
I bought an early production Rhumba from a local cat on A'gon. Turns out I'm 3rd owner in a (relatively) short period of time . . .

Rhumba sounds fine and she holds her own. No issues except for the bent toggle switch (as delivered from previous owner). I posted a comment, and Andy reached out saying that it might be warranted for a factory inspection.
On the Backert dime . . . Nice!

Again, long short: I opted for upgrades

Fron Backert web site:
4. The Mundorf caps are $400 installed and give the unit more resolution in the midrange. Just a more clear light shining on those key mid frequencies.

5. Better caps throughout - $70 installed, gives the unit more clear and deeper sound. Maybe a little more bass but mostly clarity and depth.

THEN, I decided to ditch the black chassis and go with RED!!
in a word SEXY

fast forward

THEN, Andy calls and says they found a way to improve bass. Who says no to that?

Shipped the biotch back . . .

Andy says she sounds fan-frick'n-tastik . . . . Lucky Dog!

I'll be in that camp soon . . . .

T-man, I'm gonna PM you. As I have an offer you might not be able to refuse ...

tonyb

THEN, Andy calls and says they found a way to improve bass. Who says no to that?


LMAO....Andy's a character eh. I thought you had it in your possession for awhile. Sorry about that.

Anyway, post up some thoughts when you get some time with the new girlfriend in the red dress.

SIHAB

Does anyone want to talk about this pre?

What does "Bob Backert’s patented GreenForce™ power supply" do when you hit the switch?

Those V-Caps are darn expensive...

the 1.1 has a mono/stereo switch... I wonder what it is doing internally...

scubalab

@stangman67

tonyb

SIHAB wrote: »

Does anyone want to talk about this pre?

What does "Bob Backert’s patented GreenForce™ power supply" do when you hit the switch?

Those V-Caps are darn expensive...

the 1.1 has a mono/stereo switch... I wonder what it is doing internally...

They have a membership here so you can PM Andy any questions you may have or visit their website.

We did a demo round here last year from the very generous people down at Backert labs. Andy, Bob, and countless faces behind the curtain are all top notch.

stangman67

I’ve still got my Rhumba 1.0. Love it to death, don’t see any reason to replace it with anything else. Simply superb sound. Settled on some NOS Mullards in it and haven’t looked back. I can only compare to the TEAC integrateds I had before and the setup kills the integrateds all the way around. The only issue I have with it is some low level noise with no music playing but I’ve gotten used to it.

Paired equipment is relatively modest, B&K Ref 250 amp, Focal Aria 926 speakers, Music Hall MMF 7.3 tt/Marantz 8005 SACD/Bluesound Node 2 as the sources, mix of Wireworld and Acoustic Zen wiring.

Still have to say the customer service provided by Backert is second to none, and that is reason enough to own one.

tonyb

stangman67 wrote: »

I’ve still got my Rhumba 1.0. Love it to death, don’t see any reason to replace it with anything else. Simply superb sound. Settled on some NOS Mullards in it and haven’t looked back. I can only compare to the TEAC integrateds I had before and the setup kills the integrateds all the way around. The only issue I have with it is some low level noise with no music playing but I’ve gotten used to it.

Paired equipment is relatively modest, B&K Ref 250 amp, Focal Aria 926 speakers, Music Hall MMF 7.3 tt/Marantz 8005 SACD/Bluesound Node 2 as the sources, mix of Wireworld and Acoustic Zen wiring.

Still have to say the customer service provided by Backert is second to none, and that is reason enough to own one.

Cool man. I'm also using some AZ/Wireworld cables, they mix well together and compliment each other nicely. Nice system you put together there btw, can't imagine anyone not being happy with that sound.

The low level noise in the Rhumba your experiencing may just be noise in your electrical circuit or a bad ground somewhere else in the system. She was dead quiet when I had one on demo. A good power conditioner might clean that up some. Anyway, nice to hear your still enjoying it.

GlennDog

stangman67 wrote: »

I’ve still got my Rhumba 1.0. Love it to death, don’t see any reason to replace it with anything else. Simply superb sound. The only issue I have with it is some low level noise with no music playing but I’ve gotten used to it.

I bet the low level noise can be gotten rid of toot-sweet.

Contact Andy, give him your serial # and tell him of the issue

My Rhumba was one of the first iterations. I think that's one reason Andy offered to have their Service Dept/Bob give it the "once over" ...

There's a recent (modestly priced) development that improves bass

Talk To Andy for your options. Just say'n ...