deHavilland UltraVerve 3 Remote and deHavilland Mercury 3 Preamplifiers

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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deHavilland UltraVerve 3 Preamplifier - http://www.dehavillandhifi.com/UltraVerve-Preamplifier.htm


deHavilland Mercury 3 Preamplifier - http://www.dehavillandhifi.com/MERCURY_PRE.htm


Hello all and good afternoon to you. I hope everyone had a safe night last night and Happy New Year to all. I am currently considering the purchase of one of these two pre-amplifiers. I'd love to keep the Dodd MLP in my rig but there is a very good chance that a repair may not be possible for the long haul. Therefore, I am forced to start looking for a preamplifier to replace something that held an extremely high bar.

Just wondering if any of you on this forum have heard either of these preamplifiers in your or any other rig that you have heard, and what your impressions were. Just as an FYI, here is the rest of my rig...


PS - Richard Grey 400Pro Power Supply to –

CD/SACD - Marantz Reference Series SA-7S1, Nerve Audio PC and Transparent Reference IC's to Pre –

TT - Music Hall MMF-5 w/ Goldring 1012Gx cart, Joe's "The Clamp", isolation footing, the 25th Anniversary Edition Nitty Gritty DS Record Cleaning Machine in Jatoba finish and optional smoked acrylic cover. The "Shark" steam cleaner for additional cleaning effectiveness and superior LP playback performance. Jolida JD9 MarkII tubed phono pre w/ Tung Sol Gold-Pin 12AX7 Tubes, Analysis Plus Power Oval 10 PC and Transparent Reference IC's to Pre–

SERVER - Bluesound Node 2 NAP w/Transparent Gen5 Optical cable to a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 Tube DAC w/ Transparent Reference IC's to Pre-

PRE - Dodd Audio MLP tubed pre-amplifier with custom wood remote and 4ea. 12AX7Ei Gold-Pins, isolation footings w/ custom cord to separate PS and pre. and from RG 400Pro to PS w/ Transparent Reference IC's to –

AMP - Musical Fidelity AC3r Dual Mono SS amplifier w/ PS Audio Prelude PC, Transparent Music Wave Ultra SC's to –

CROSSOVER - The crosssovers have been removed from the cabinets and were part of a 3 and a half year project from design to finished product. Completely custom. A cabinet enclosure was manufactured from scratch to hold three levels of crossover components. 1st level, the original crossovers that came with the speakers. 2nd level, the tweeter network with all VR3 Abott series upgrades (his top tier line). 3rd level, VR3 Abott series upgrade bass and mid-bass network. This is actually two crossover networks in one enclosure so we can very rapidly change from the original crossovers that came with the speakers to the upgraded crossovers. Custom aircraft aluminum chassis with independently suspended/isolated shelves, powder coated black and spiked w/ custom umbilical cord to speakers with NL4 connections to –

SPEAKERS - Tyler Acoustics Lynbrook Signature Series one piece towers in Ribbon Mahogany. The speakers have been completely disassembled and rebuilt/finished from the ground up, resealed, damping material added, crossovers removed from the cabinet. Also, upgraded wiring, spikes, back plate and NL4 connector/umbilical cord that connects back to the crossover networks.

SUBS - Stereo set of Rythmik 800w Direct Servo sub's, on Target stands that are (normally) spiked w/ AQ King Cobra IC's and MIT "Y" splitter cables coming from the MF AC3r and PS Audio Prelude PC's



As you can see, this hobby has kept me busy over the years to achieve what I currently have sound wise. With the loss of the Dodd MLP, I will need a top notch pre and I was hoping that one of these two might fit the bill. All comments are welcome, good or bad. Thanks in advance if you have read this post up until this point. I do appreciate your time.

Tom
 

kach22i

WBF Founding Member
Apr 21, 2010
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www.kachadoorian.com
I've never heard of the Dodd MLP but from what I've read it is very nice.

Same with the deHavilland , I have only read about them.

Seems like your best bet is to get a home audition somehow.

Dealers
http://www.dehavillandhifi.com/Dealers_ and_Warranty.htm
International Orders

220V, 230V, 240V, products are all available to fulfill international orders. Please contact for special export pricing and shipping charges.

United States of America Dealer Contacts

We reserve the right to sell on a direct basis in the areas where we have no dealers.

Arizona

Sweet Spot Home Theaters & Arizona High End Audio
Bill Coomes
3696 N. 159th. Ave.
Pebble Creek- Tuscany Falls
Goodyear, AZ. 85395
Tel: 623-533-4433
Email: kokopelliaudiophile@netzero.com
Web: http://www.billcoomesllc.vpweb.com

California
George Audio

George Kielczynski
Santa Rosa, CA.
By Appointment.
Telephone (707) 546-8046
Email george2k@sonic.net

Idaho
AudioKinesis
Duke LeJeune
64 South 300 East
Preston, Idaho 83263
1.504.251.2311 Office
1.208.852.2610 Home
Email audiokinesis@yahoo.com
http://www.audiokinesis.com/

Michigan
TR Audio
Todd Reitz
22457 Painter St.
Edwardsburg, MI 49112
269-699-7184
phone hrs. M-F 5:30-9:30, Sat-Sun 9:00-9:00 EST
email traudio@frontier.com
web: http://www.traudio.net/

Montana
Big Sky Hifi Inc. John Shigo
83 Wedgewood Lane,
Whitefish, MT. 59937.
Phone: 406-862-1150,
Email john@bigskyhifi.com
http://www.bigskyhifi.com/
NEW YORK
ClearSound Audio , Neil Solina
Patchogue , NY . 11772
Tel: 631-848-7455
web: clearsoundaudio1.com

Ohio
Black Swamp Audio
Rick Francis and Brad Self, proprietors.
14 S. Fifth St.
Waterville, OH 43566
Toll Free 866-442-5408
Tel:567-202-4452
Emails: rick@blackswampaudio.com
brad@blackswampaudio.com

South Carolina
Hurricane Hi Fi (demonstrations by appointment only)
Bruce Manoly
5 Key Plantation Rd.
Warrenville SC 29851
(803) 593-4854
Email: hurricanehifi@bellsouth.net


Canada

Brooklyn Audio
Jody Crane email
(902)463-8773
(902)463-4988
10am - 8pm , Eastern
Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4E9



email kara@tubewizard.com
Tel 360-891-6570
deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company
2401 NE 148th Ct.
Vancouver WA 98684

There you go, near you, right?

South Carolina
Hurricane Hi Fi (demonstrations by appointment only)
Bruce Manoly
5 Key Plantation Rd.
Warrenville SC 29851
(803) 593-4854
 
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treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
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Hi, Skip. He has the UltraVerve3 and he also has a good ear. That's why I am considering one.....or the Mercury at about twice the cost. He has not heard that one yet. The only thing I have read about the deHavillands here is that they had one at a PNW audio gathering many years ago. Not much information at all was really said about it, so I was hoping after all of these years, more folks would have been able to get their ears on them and give me "real world" feedback.

Thanks, George. It looks like I'll make an appointment with Bruce. Looks like he is only about 2 hours away from me. I wonder what other audio goodies he has! All we have near Charlotte is a private shop (Liquid Hi-Fi) and Audio Advice, which is not really up my alley with most of the gear they carry. I usually have to skidaddle down to Atlanta and check out Hi-Fi Buys, which admittedly is more my style. I really appreciate you letting me know that. I must have missed that link to locations somehow.

Tom
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
5,459
961
1,290
The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
South Carolina
Hurricane Hi Fi (demonstrations by appointment only)
Bruce Manoly
5 Key Plantation Rd.
Warrenville SC 29851
(803) 593-4854

Apparently their number has been disconnected. I have reached out to deHavilland.

Tom
 

kach22i

WBF Founding Member
Apr 21, 2010
1,591
210
1,635
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.kachadoorian.com
South Carolina
Hurricane Hi Fi (demonstrations by appointment only)
Bruce Manoly
5 Key Plantation Rd.
Warrenville SC 29851
(803) 593-4854

Apparently their number has been disconnected. I have reached out to deHavilland.

Tom
Let them know that the Michigan link is also broken.

The local Hi-Fi shop near me explained a trend of where owners of said equipment become representatives by hosting prospective buyers for an audition in their home. Based on the adresses I suspect that is what we are looking at, an owner network. The hosting owners then get some sort of compensation or a perk of some kind.
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
5,459
961
1,290
The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
Will do. I got a bounce back of Bruce's email as well. Left a message with deHavilland directly.

Tom
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
5,459
961
1,290
The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
Gentlemen, it appears as if this company is at a standstill at the moment. Thanks for those who have responded. I have already purchased another pre.

It seems as if the chief engineer/builder has ran into some health issues and production has come to a hault for the time being. I'll keep you posted if their are any further developments. In the meantime, best wishes to Kara Chaffee for a speedy recovery.

Tom
 

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