My thoughts on owning this pre amp.
My view expressed is just an opinion, personal and not held up as anything but my humble opinion in my set up. It's what I hear and understand, as balanced as I can be. I will try to be descriptive and accurate and not let what I "like" interfere with the description too much. But ultimately, it's just my take and nothing more. Feel free to ignore.
For reference I have had 30 years of audiophile fun, mistakes, highs, lows and learning. I'm a neurotic audiophile that's learnt to relax and separate listening to the sound from the music (when possible , I can enjoy both on the right recordings of course). I've come to believe there is no "holy grail" in HiFi for me. Which is fine. Chasing the perfect sound on everything I listened to became expensive, frustrating and ultimately unnecessary. Again, just for me, over time I have come to value true quality and heritage in audio companies and look for depth, history and engineering if I'm to spend huge sums. I'm don't spend large sums anymore on poor electronics and speakers, but I'm happy to spend at the more extreme end if it offers value. I'm absolutely a genuine 100% music lover, with a huge cd collection built from 10 years old. I'm CD only, ripped in AIFF and played via my network or the old fashioned way. Not a downloader and have not found hi res or upscaling to work for me personally. I'm a CD guy.
I'm listening with sotm 200 and separate power supply, roon, hq player and a 2017 Mac Pro, TAD D1000 cd/sacd /dac mk 2, Tannoy Kingdom Royals driven by Audionet Max monos. Power strips and power cables nordost, other cables MIT. I know this kit very well and have had some of it for 3 years plus. I replaced my beloved Cary Audio SLP-05 Pre Amp with the C600 pre.
If your not already bored, onto the pre.......
There is nothing missing at all. I can not find any lacking of anything in this pre amp. If there is something missing I can not locate it. It's bass is deep and powerful and fast. The treble is accurate and goes as cleanly and as high as any recording allows. Dynamically it's effortless all of the time. Its resolution is unmatched in my experience, probably due to the obsessive materials, components and attention to detail in addressing vibration internally and airborne. The separate power supply makes this possible also. The stereo image is stable and offers depth, width and insight into the engineers recording. All of the above is present IF THE RECORDING HAS IT.
Everything that characterises descriptive sound comes from the recording, and the TAD will give you that and the recording will sound anything from beautifully lush and transparent to thin, harsh and lacking dynamics. Personally I can still enjoy the music and be comfortable in the high quality of the replay system, but some may want a different approach. That's fine, don't bother with TAD. I like to hear the artist and engineering as they laid it down. But that's just me. That's where I've ended up, I accept bad recordings and enjoy them. Not for everyone but in the end that's what I've come to want.
Any comments that there is a dry or unemotional character I can not relate to. Personally, it pulls me in musically more than any more warm, lush or rich sounding gear and I've had plenty of that and enjoyed it. I could not describe the sound of this preamp as cold, warm, dry or rich. I can tell you if a recording has any of those qualities, it will give you any or all of those qualities. For better or for worse, without adding or taking away. It's supremely capable in all the audiohpile areas we love, totally and utterly capable overall. But it's honest and the recording will be opened up for your inspection.
Everyday I listen to music. I put on whatever I fancy. If it's a recording that is thin or bright or just not one I like, I listen to the music and I enjoy it. I'm fine that it sounds like that, and I'm pleased that the system is giving me insight into the recorded medium. I'm pleased and calmed by its ability to give me the truth. If it's a wonderful recording, then I enjoy the care and quality of that recording and again, I appreciate how the system can capture that engineers and artists effort. There's nothing like a great recording of course! My journey has ended with the truth, and the knowledge that I simply will never have audio perfection, primarily because not all recordings are made equal. What I do want it that my system is good enough and engineered well enough, by experienced and capable companies and individuals, to give me that recording as close as it can be to the disc.
There's a lot of **** in HiFi. Badly put together, poor production techniques, bad build quality, great marketing and press relations, and all for very large sums of money. I've bought some of that rubbish. I've pretended to like it because it's supposed to be good. Hearing the gear from quality companies made me realise I'd been conned. TAD are absolutely amoung the best professional and home audio businesses. They are not the only ones, but they are up there. They invest, they have built nearly a century of experience, and they don't trick you. The quality is there, but if you need all your music to sound the way you want it too, I'd say the C600 might not be for you.
I feel pleased I invested so much time and money in HiFi , and I enjoy my hobby. It keeps on giving! I want to hear the difference in recordings and value accuracy and (as best can be achieved) neutrality. I've come to want that, after many years. I don't want the "colour" or anything sexed up. I probably would have hated the C600 10 years ago, because when the recording wasnt great I wasn't able to listen to the music instead back then. It got on my nerves and I tried to change the presentation. This was my mistake. Now I've learnt where that got me. This is the preamp that I don't get bored of, I never want anything else, I trust the quality and accuracy and my audiophile mind quietens down a little.
The Mona Lisa is the Mona Lisa. Personally it's too dark for me, but probably not a good idea to add a lighter colour in the corner. Just a small, minor dab. Not sure Leonardo would appreciate it. As the artist intended works just fine, just don't expect to like it every time. In the same vein, I'd say leave a v8 Ferrari engine alone, they don't need their engines chipped. The engineers know how to build it just so.
I'm reassured by the bad recordings, I know the kit is good enough and just relax and enjoy the recordings character for what it is. The pre amp makes my music collection endlessly interesting because it changes with every disk. I don't get bored, but I do wish sometimes artists would have spent a bit more time on the recording itself rather than "just" the music.
It's not for everyone in our sport. For me it's right, but it all depends how you like your stake cooked. I think it offers value and it's at the very highest level of audio reproduction, but it f...king should be, its costs a fortune. And took me 30 years to be ready for it!
My view expressed is just an opinion, personal and not held up as anything but my humble opinion in my set up. It's what I hear and understand, as balanced as I can be. I will try to be descriptive and accurate and not let what I "like" interfere with the description too much. But ultimately, it's just my take and nothing more. Feel free to ignore.
For reference I have had 30 years of audiophile fun, mistakes, highs, lows and learning. I'm a neurotic audiophile that's learnt to relax and separate listening to the sound from the music (when possible , I can enjoy both on the right recordings of course). I've come to believe there is no "holy grail" in HiFi for me. Which is fine. Chasing the perfect sound on everything I listened to became expensive, frustrating and ultimately unnecessary. Again, just for me, over time I have come to value true quality and heritage in audio companies and look for depth, history and engineering if I'm to spend huge sums. I'm don't spend large sums anymore on poor electronics and speakers, but I'm happy to spend at the more extreme end if it offers value. I'm absolutely a genuine 100% music lover, with a huge cd collection built from 10 years old. I'm CD only, ripped in AIFF and played via my network or the old fashioned way. Not a downloader and have not found hi res or upscaling to work for me personally. I'm a CD guy.
I'm listening with sotm 200 and separate power supply, roon, hq player and a 2017 Mac Pro, TAD D1000 cd/sacd /dac mk 2, Tannoy Kingdom Royals driven by Audionet Max monos. Power strips and power cables nordost, other cables MIT. I know this kit very well and have had some of it for 3 years plus. I replaced my beloved Cary Audio SLP-05 Pre Amp with the C600 pre.
If your not already bored, onto the pre.......
There is nothing missing at all. I can not find any lacking of anything in this pre amp. If there is something missing I can not locate it. It's bass is deep and powerful and fast. The treble is accurate and goes as cleanly and as high as any recording allows. Dynamically it's effortless all of the time. Its resolution is unmatched in my experience, probably due to the obsessive materials, components and attention to detail in addressing vibration internally and airborne. The separate power supply makes this possible also. The stereo image is stable and offers depth, width and insight into the engineers recording. All of the above is present IF THE RECORDING HAS IT.
Everything that characterises descriptive sound comes from the recording, and the TAD will give you that and the recording will sound anything from beautifully lush and transparent to thin, harsh and lacking dynamics. Personally I can still enjoy the music and be comfortable in the high quality of the replay system, but some may want a different approach. That's fine, don't bother with TAD. I like to hear the artist and engineering as they laid it down. But that's just me. That's where I've ended up, I accept bad recordings and enjoy them. Not for everyone but in the end that's what I've come to want.
Any comments that there is a dry or unemotional character I can not relate to. Personally, it pulls me in musically more than any more warm, lush or rich sounding gear and I've had plenty of that and enjoyed it. I could not describe the sound of this preamp as cold, warm, dry or rich. I can tell you if a recording has any of those qualities, it will give you any or all of those qualities. For better or for worse, without adding or taking away. It's supremely capable in all the audiohpile areas we love, totally and utterly capable overall. But it's honest and the recording will be opened up for your inspection.
Everyday I listen to music. I put on whatever I fancy. If it's a recording that is thin or bright or just not one I like, I listen to the music and I enjoy it. I'm fine that it sounds like that, and I'm pleased that the system is giving me insight into the recorded medium. I'm pleased and calmed by its ability to give me the truth. If it's a wonderful recording, then I enjoy the care and quality of that recording and again, I appreciate how the system can capture that engineers and artists effort. There's nothing like a great recording of course! My journey has ended with the truth, and the knowledge that I simply will never have audio perfection, primarily because not all recordings are made equal. What I do want it that my system is good enough and engineered well enough, by experienced and capable companies and individuals, to give me that recording as close as it can be to the disc.
There's a lot of **** in HiFi. Badly put together, poor production techniques, bad build quality, great marketing and press relations, and all for very large sums of money. I've bought some of that rubbish. I've pretended to like it because it's supposed to be good. Hearing the gear from quality companies made me realise I'd been conned. TAD are absolutely amoung the best professional and home audio businesses. They are not the only ones, but they are up there. They invest, they have built nearly a century of experience, and they don't trick you. The quality is there, but if you need all your music to sound the way you want it too, I'd say the C600 might not be for you.
I feel pleased I invested so much time and money in HiFi , and I enjoy my hobby. It keeps on giving! I want to hear the difference in recordings and value accuracy and (as best can be achieved) neutrality. I've come to want that, after many years. I don't want the "colour" or anything sexed up. I probably would have hated the C600 10 years ago, because when the recording wasnt great I wasn't able to listen to the music instead back then. It got on my nerves and I tried to change the presentation. This was my mistake. Now I've learnt where that got me. This is the preamp that I don't get bored of, I never want anything else, I trust the quality and accuracy and my audiophile mind quietens down a little.
The Mona Lisa is the Mona Lisa. Personally it's too dark for me, but probably not a good idea to add a lighter colour in the corner. Just a small, minor dab. Not sure Leonardo would appreciate it. As the artist intended works just fine, just don't expect to like it every time. In the same vein, I'd say leave a v8 Ferrari engine alone, they don't need their engines chipped. The engineers know how to build it just so.
I'm reassured by the bad recordings, I know the kit is good enough and just relax and enjoy the recordings character for what it is. The pre amp makes my music collection endlessly interesting because it changes with every disk. I don't get bored, but I do wish sometimes artists would have spent a bit more time on the recording itself rather than "just" the music.
It's not for everyone in our sport. For me it's right, but it all depends how you like your stake cooked. I think it offers value and it's at the very highest level of audio reproduction, but it f...king should be, its costs a fortune. And took me 30 years to be ready for it!