So, in this review from 1996 which you said he recommended, he says "And yet there was definitely something missing: on reference discs like Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (RCA LS0-6006-2-R before the Classic reissue), the air in the hall wasn't there, top-end extension lacked detail, ambient trails seemed to dry up prematurely. On
Bang Baaroom and Harp (RCA LSP 1866) the metallic quality to the percussion—the shimmer—seemed muted and mellow. Pleasant listening, but lacking in brassy bite.
Good as what was there was, what was missing left me dissatisfied. I was not a happy camper."
While the unit is simple, there's nothing "budget" about the Mod 3 outside or inside, where you'll find an extremely high-quality, oxygen-free copper, double-sided, "star-grounded" main board loaded with high-quality mil-spec parts including high grade 1% resistors and custom-designed...
www.stereophile.com
I guess you read like you write