My second try. For many folks like me, it is difficult to justify buying a very expensive, limited edition product from a extremely small manufacturer with very limited resources from a personnel and dealer support perspective.
Hello,
For the folks like you ( with whom I am imagining have never seen a First Sound in the flesh, much less have ever had the pleasure of listening to one) I can kind of understand your viewpoint as they are very difficult to be able to see or hear in the wild, so to speak.
However, if a person (and I would say, imho, there are many) that has an understanding of circuit topology, of proper circuit layout/functionality, of what ultra high quality components being used as well as the outstanding build construction that helps reject and reduce vibrations, interference, spurious noise, etc... this would at the very least intrigue a person to investigate this line stage a little more by perhaps giving Emmanual Go a call to discuss his product, to learn more of his design ideology, to know the whys behind what he does and why what he does matters so much and how it truly affects the resulting sound of the signal going thru his line stage. I would think a person would then become even more intrigued and would search out other uses of this line stage to learn why they use it, how long have they have had it, how it compared to other products, how it's reliability has been, etc.... maybe try to find a person who owns one that may live relatively near by and ask if you could come hear theirs... maybe bring yours along to compare. Then maybe, you would be enamored enough to buy one for yourself.
As for not having a dealer network/support. There are many people who buy high end audio gear that have never seen the product in person, nor have heard the product at a dealer, much less in there own system. They simply buy based on glossy magazine ads, or reviews written by paid reviewers, or by reading about them on the various forums. Many of the truly high end products that are being sold via a dealer network can only be found at a very limited number of dealers throughout the country...meaning you would have travel across many states to be able to see or hear one.
Emmanual Go has been in business making these line stages for at least 32 years! That alone speaks volumes to me! He is a genius and a true artist that makes a line stage that will compete with, if not even surpass the very best and most expensive line stages out there. The fact that he doesn't have a middle man (dealer network), means all the money that you pay for this amazing line stage goes for the cost of the parts, labor, research/design of this line stage itself. There is no padding of the dealer network middle man.
Emmanual has a true passion for his line stages. This is all he does. No power amps, no phono stages, no dac's, no speakers... nothing but his pre-amp. And he continually puts all of his knowledge, thoughts, and efforts into making it better and better. Did you know, that you can send back your original line stage from 1992 and he can upgrade that unit to the current 2024 spec line stage that he is producing right now! You don't have to delegate your original line stage to being a door stop or a boat anchor, and have to shell out an exorbitant amount of money on yet another new piece of gear.
In addition to that, if you do need a repair or would like to upgrade it to a more current spec... he is the man that does the work, the man who designed it, the man who has the over 32 years of experience in building it, the man who thinks of and truly loves each one of his pieces as if they were his offspring! And, he does it in a vary timely manner! Versus some large corporate business that doesn't even have the original designer on staff anymore and uses multiple "technicians" off the street.
Emmanual loves his designs, and has a true passion for all things audio and music and is a complete joy to talk with via the phone or email. Always a gentleman, always eager to talk or answer questions about his product and how it may interact with the rest of your system.
So when you consider... the First Sound line stage is an all tube, dual mono design with your choice of external power supplies that not only has a total capacitance of at least 230,000 to well over 578,000 mfd (the Pass X250 amplifier for an example - which is a fantastic amp - only has 200,000 mfd). The First Sound has a frequency range of 5hz - 250khz, is more quiet and more dynamic than many solid state designs, then couple that with a full 3 dimensional sound that conveys the flesh and blood of musicians in a way that I have never heard a solid state line stage do; the extremely high quality parts, design, and build quality... with the extreme reliability of the product, the amazing service/support and appreciation Emmanuel gives to his customers, the fact that you can upgrade the very first one ever made from back in 1992 (without having to toss it into the dumpster) to the current 2024 spec... is it any wonder why his customers feel that his line stage is truly an end-game product?
Well, all of this is how I justified buying mine. I not only consider mine to be an end-game line stage, but also an heirloom piece that I will pass down thru the generations.
P.S. As for the fact that it doesn't have remote controlled volume or selectors.... I don't believe you will ever get the same sound quality from a remote controlled volume/selector as what you will get from the impeccably high quality dual mono discrete resistor volume controls and selectors that you find on the First Sound line stage.
Also, as in actual practice, I never have to adjust the volume controls more than +/- 1 click up or down from my normal volume positions. When I listen to my records I put a post-it note on each cover stating what volume levels I listened to for future reference. I simply adjust the volume according to my notes for each record when placing it on the turntable. By doing so, I never have to get up from my listening chair to adjust the volume once I have dropped the needle. Thus, eliminating any desire "for me" to have a remote control that may degrade the ultimate sound quality that the line stage is capable of producing.
Please accept my sincere apologies for this long winded post... but the above is my humble opinion, a music lover who actually owns, who lives with, who cherishes and truly appreciates what his First Sound line stage contributes to the ultimate listening experience from my audio system.
Best wishes to all,
Don
