SONIC FRONTIERS LINE 3 TUBE PREAMP WITH REMOTE CONTROL AND ORIGINAL BOXES

SONIC FRONTIERS LINE 3 TUBE PREAMP WITH REMOTE CONTROL AND ORIGINAL BOXES This is a tough piece to describe. There is very little out there to compare it to. If you take the time to read the innumerable reviews you will see the reviewers had the same problem - it pretty much stood alone. Is this the best line stage preamp ever made? That is subjective. Is there anything that sounds better? Again, subjective. There is rarely one of these offered on the used market, their owners hold onto them. This one survived its owner and that is the only reason it is being offered for sale. After nearly 40 years in the business, and for some here over 50 years as audio enthusiasts, it is easy to become jaded. We see a lot of stuff. Perhaps the best description we can offer is that this is one of those products that has come along from time to time that everyone here would like to own. In today's market this is a $10,000 line stage preamp. But it is not for everyone. It does not have a phono stage, you will need an external phono preamp. A line preamp is very much a purist product and to a purist the phono stage has to be isolated. Because of the advanced nature of the design, the tubes are always 'loafing'. One reviewer ran his for between 3500 and 4000 hours and then tested the tubes - they tested as NEW! Here are what some of the reviewers have had to say: SOUNDSTAGE. "The Line 3, as its name implies, is a line-stage preamp, but it is also at the forefront of a new type of component, the full-feature preamp. Included in the Line 3's eight line inputs and five line outputs (two of the inputs and two of the outputs are balanced) are a tape loop and a surround-sound-processor loop. The surround loop cedes volume control to your processor, while allowing you to use the Line 3 alone and unmolested for two-channel listening. On the front of the unit is a headphone jack, and not just any headphone jack, but one that uses the HeadRoom circuitry. The four-color display is dimmable in several steps, all the way to off. There is a mute button, phase button, standby button, and an essential feature usually missing from even the finest of preamps, a mono switch. The power supply is a full-size outboard unit that weights almost as much as the Line 1 alone and features 26 stages of regulation. The parts quality in the Line 3 shows no compromise. In fact, it could be called significantly over spec'd. The very first thing I noticed about the Line 3, as did everyone I played it for, was the bass. Here at the Warnke Winter Lodge and Musicporium, the bass was so deep and so tight that -- no hyperbole at all -- my passing fascination with adding a subwoofer to the system was entirely obviated. Taken together, this all makes the Line 3 the most neutral product I’ve ever had pass though here." STEREOPHILE. "Inside the main chassis, the 6-tube (all 6DJ8/6922) Line 1 and 2 appear somewhat similar but the Line 2 is endowed with a more generous layout and upgraded components since there is no internal power supply. The 10-tube, 65lb Line 3 is much more complex and elaborate with component selections that go beyond compulsiveness and border on paranoia. Even the printed circuit boards are damped and isolated! Balanced and single-ended sources are fed via input resistors and input selection relays to the Line 3's dual CS3310 volume controllers with differential amps (one 6922 per channel) on their outputs. But given that I said—in print, no less—"I couldn't find any shortcomings in the Line 2!," why even bother with the Line 3? Because the Line 3 corrects shortcomings of the Line 2 that are so minor that they are apparent only when removed. The two preamps share an overall balance and presentation that I continue to characterize as confoundingly neutral. That accounts for my inability to provide a lengthy subjective description." AUDIO VIDEO REVOLUTION. "The effort that went into the mechanical design and packaging of this product is apparent at first sight. The build quality inside and out is absolutely superb. The remote control for the Line 3 is a puck-shaped unit, fabricated out of aluminum with a clear anodized finish. Rather than using screws to secure the lid containing the control buttons, the entire top simply threads on. I personally like it, and found it to be quite comfortable to operate. Regardless of your impression both ergonomically and aesthetically, I think that it is one of the more thought-out and well-designed remotes out there. I found the Line 3 to posses the quickness of the better solid state preamps, and the wonderful realness of tubes. I initially wavered on the possibility of purchasing the Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 until I connected the Line 3 and heard the combination together. I found the combination to be so outstanding that I purchased them both for my reference system." Frequency response: 2Hz to 250kHz Total harmonic distortion: 0.01% Gain: 12dB (line) Signal to noise ratio: 100dB (line) Output: 1V (Pre out), 56V (Pre out Max) Valve complement: 10 x 6922, 2 x 6GH8A Dimensions: 480 x 360 x 115mm Weight: 27.5kg Accessories: infra red remote control This is a truly great product. Shipping weight exceeds 60 lbs.