My experience
Soulution designed the 520 preamp to be an extremely wide bandwidth design and places great emphasis on ultra-fast response times as a result.

The Soulution 520 is perfectly equipped for all audiophile requirements with four line inputs and a high quality built in phono stage. The inbuilt MC phono stage has no gain adjustment. Soulution states that the Soulution 520 is quiet enough to accommodate the lowest gain cartridges without hitting the noise floor of the preamplifier. Impedance is set at the rear panel, using a series of DIP switches between the left and right channel MC inputs. The input ranges are near silent. 

The Soulution 520 has great dynamics, resolution, control, musicality and above all neutrality. All as close to perfection as possible.

The Soulution 520 is a top class preamplifier. 

My experience
SoulNote is a Japanese company, founded in 2004 by the ex-director of Marantz Nippon, an engineer, Mr. Norinaga Nakazawa. The SoulNote P3 preamplifier belongs to the flagship SoulNote series.

The SoulNote P3 preamplifier stands on a wooden platform that comes with it. The top cover is floating because it is not screwed to anything. All helps to control, channel away and dampen vibrations. 

The presentation of the SoulNote P3 preamplifier is very nice, silky and smooth. It sounds like a pure tube preamp. The SoulNote P3 has all the features of a smooth, fluid, colour rich tube sound. Its soundstage is excellent, nicely widened and stretched around your sweet spot. The dynamics are fantastic realistic and give the experience of being close to live instruments.

The SoulNote P3 is one of the best-built audio devices, both in terms of mechanics and electronics. Its chassis has been constructed in such a way as to control vibrations as much as possible. It is made of stiff, aluminum elements fastened with thick beams. The sides are double-layered and the bottom is made of thinner sheet metal. The top cover is also double-layered and it is not bolted on, but rests on three cones. And there are also spikes on the bottom, with the middle one supporting the aluminum structure directly, with one of the transformers bolted to it.

The preamplifier is big, heavy and looks very very good. Its design includes solutions which, due to high costs, are used very rarely or not at all in audio.

The SoulNote P3 is a master preamp and one to be for sure on your wish list.

My experience
The SoulNote M3 mono’s are mechanically complex power amplifiers. All sections of the device are physically separated from each other. Both the electronics boards and the side baffles, bottom and top, transformer and power supply, each of these elements is an independent whole that only flows in a given place and is not permanently tightened to anything. The aluminum plates on which the loudspeaker terminals, separate XLR input and, on a separate plate, the power socket are installed, are independent of each other and are vibration free floating. To keep all from falling apart, everything is mounted on pins with titanium washers. All amazingly wel build and constructed.

The qualities of the SoulNote M3 have only great positive remarks. The SoulNote M3 are true to reality of the playback source and will reveal all what the music contains and requires… dynamics, openness, 3D soundstage, natural warmth and  a lot more of where that came from.

The midrange of the The SoulNote M3 is very similar to that of high-end tube amplifiers. The SoulNote M3 presentation is all about fluidity and coherence. When needed, the SoulNote M3 mono amplifiers present low bass without any hesitation and or shortcoming.

Japanese perfection, now for a much more affordable price…

My experience
Used Psvane tubes. Hour usage is not known. The tubes are still in great condition. They come in the original Psvane packaging.

Beautifully constructed, in style and sound. Psvane tubes do it so much better, with more clarity, air and dynamics, a quieter background, louder volume and a much much bigger soundstage. Highs open up and the bass is more compact. Psvane 845 tubes gives a more focused and powerful sound, with the imaging more locked on.

The Psvane tubes are not used a lot and were matched when bought new by the first and only owner.

The experience
Surprisingly heavy and very well build. A true Italian quality design.

The Mastersound Compact 845 is super fast, very transparent and plays full of fire and enthusiasm. The Mastersound Compact 845 always puts you on the edge of your listening chair. The sound is very open, neutral, clear, very seductive, has a tube lushness with a dynamic punch. The Compact 845’s reveals a gorgeously rounded tone and presents the energy and emotion in musical performances with a beautiful sincerity.

The 845 power is ample and more than enough to drive any modern speaker with ease.

My experience
Made in Germany and with many raving reviews, the Turntables Choice has clarity, focus, openness, bass depth, shape, slam, air and a very enjoyable texture. Phono stages do not have to be super expensive… The Turntables Choice is very affordable and gives playing your vinyl a very nice improvement.   

The Turntable’s Choice is a phono amplifier of the highest quality, which emphasises relevant features such as a realistic playback quality, reliability and a simple usability.

My experience
The Kroma Julieta is seen by many as one of the most beautiful loudspeakers in the world… A true work of art in any interior.

The Kroma Julieta is beautifully designed. It’s stand is not only beautiful but also functional. The crossover is located in the base of the stand in a completely enclosed room. The housing of the Kroma Julieta is made of Krion, a non-conductive and non-magnetic material that has a very high mass, so that there is little to no resonance from the housing itself.

The Kroma Julieta is sounding natural, dynamic, very lifelike, extremely neutral, smooth sounding and is easy to drive with a 90dB sensitivity, which makes the Julieta very easy controllable with a modest (tube)power amplifier. All above ensures a very neutral and natural sound experience. The Kroma Julieta blossoms in free space with true force and great reach at your sweet spot.

The experience
The Jeff Rowland Corus is one of the most beautifully made preamps I know..visually very stunning, with a beautiful front panel and chassis. Both made from solid aluminum blocks… a pure design delight.

The Jeff Rowland Corus is very capable, with four balanced inputs, two unbalanced inputs, four main outputs (two balanced, two unbalanced) and two record outputs. The presentation of the the Jeff Rowland Corus gives a deep musical involvement, smoothness, refinement, resolution, delicate, energy and life like, yet subtle with refined openness and realism.

The Jeff Rowland Corus is very musical, fast and clean, with lots of detail and tremendous clarity, speed and articulation, but not clinical at all, surprisingly transparent, extremely clean-sounding, adding very little to none sonic signature. The sound staging is rich, wide and deep, with each layer very well separated. The imaging is solid and clearly outlined.

A true High-end state of the art jewel…