Free $3K preamp to lucky listener who names it



We at Backert Labs have just introduced our new preamp, which is sonically very close to our $7,500 unit at less than half the price ($2,995 to be exact).

It doesn't have a name yet, so we're having a contest: a lucky listener who suggests the name that we decide to use will win one.

If we don't use any of the names suggested, there will still be a winner, selected at random from all entries. If the name we select was submitted by more than one entry, we'll draw the winner at random from those entries.

Our press release is handy if you'd like some info before submitting your name idea.

Enter here.

Good luck!
backertlabs
OK we have decided, and the name of our new preamp is:

Rhumba! Victor from Lawrenceberg, IN was the winning entrant and will receive his preamp next week. We are currently preparing to notify all who entered via email (which requires yours truly to master some email stuff that I haven't had to think about before). But the rules don't prevent us from announcing the results however we want, so just wanted to let you know. Our sincere thanks to all who entered!
We received this from Terry "Teajay" London... the first reaction we have gotten to the new preamp from a reviewer who heard it in his own system:

"Just about a year ago I had the great pleasure of reviewing for hometheaterreview.com the Backert Labs reference Rhythm 1.1 preamplifier. The 1.1 rivaled the performance of my personal reference, the Concert Fidelity-080 which retails for $24,000, in all sonic parameters. I thought then the 1.1 was one of the great “unknown” bargains at its $7,500 retail price.

Well, a short while ago I got a phone call from Andy Tebbe who was very excited about their new “baby” preamp, which retails for $2,995, which he believed delivered a big whopping dosage of the sonic performance of the Rhythm 1.1. In the last few weeks, in three different systems, I compared the performance of the “baby” preamp to five solid state and tube based preamplifiers. The least expensive of these cost 7K and the most expensive was 24K. Not only did it hold its own in comparison to these highly regarded and much more costly line stages, it was quite better than three of them, and was on the same level as the best of the overall group. When I write the formal review for HTR I’ll give all the details of why this new Backert Labs preamp knocked my sonic socks off across the board. If the Rhythm 1.1 is one of the greatest bargains of high-end audio, it is not hyperbole to say the new “baby” preamp might be the best deal in high-end gear of the 21st century!"
Terry London, Staff Reviewer: hometheaterreview.com
Rhumba????? err, okay......I still think Rival was the winning name, as you even stated that you wanted this preamp to rival your SOTA preamp. Your ad copy would have been better with my idea. You could have advertised to products in one ad with a catchy name that had a double meaning ....but what do I know.

Thanks for the opportunity, this was fun. I can't wait to see other names that missed and one day to hear your preamp. I really like your marketing strategy. It made for a lot of enjoyment.
Interesting sticking with the "Rh" theme. Personally I think Rhyme would've been better, but sounds like a promising product and best of luck with it.
I intered rhyme as well.Great minds think alike they say.Are you ready to RHUMBA!
Yep agree that Rhumba is way far from winning name. It's very common on the first place. Definitely ain't worth the product price for market.
Rhumba it is! Congrats to Victor, and the boys at Backert Labs for running a fun contest.

My entry was Timbre....maybe next time.
The Backert Labs Timbre, you could have called it the BLT for short. ;^)
I entered Arpeggio, but realized that not too many casual listeners know what it means. I also doubt that BackertLabs personnel knows this musical term.
The other choice of mine was Etude and still wonder how many folks know this term in this community.
Third choice I don't remember, but surely know that Rhumba is known to much more people than Arpeggio and Etude combined.
I still like my entry of the "Blues". That way they would have Rhythm and Blues.
Rcprince I had Blues also guessing a lot of folks did. Also went with Tempo but can't remember my 3rd entry. But Rhumba? No account for taste I guess lol.
Although it is spelled differently I will always associate Rhumba with Roomba the very odd robot vacuum/wannabe preamp.
There is some disagreement as to the correct spelling of the winning name,"Rhumba" or "Rumba,"according to a number of dictionaries.

The sequence of the letters "hum" in the name of any audio component seems ill-advised. In addition, "humba" sounds too close to "humbug."

The Urban Dictionary has its own take on the word rhumba.

With respect, perhaps Backert Labs will reconsider.
Timbre....one of my all time favorite names and something I'm really keen on in regards to music playback. That would have been a great one.

I do have to agree that I'm not to keen on Rhumba, for many of the reasons stated above. But, as I tell the kids I coach, " the number does not make the player, the player makes the number".
I had, as 1 of my submissions, The Beckert Labs PRAT ( for Pace, Rhythm, Attack and Timing. Oh well. Credit should be given though, as it was a wonderful marketing tool. Congrats to the winner. MrD.
Speaking of Timbre, I have a Timbre TT-1 Dac back in the day, nice piece of gear and pretty cool looking for its time.
Add me to the list that dislikes Rhumba. I understand the synergy with Rhythm, and being an entry level model "Rhumba" is not as serious by definition as Rhythm. FWIW my choices were... Apollo/Stratosphere/Veracity. My guess is they thought these names were to powerful for an entry level unit?
I submitted rhyme, pace and tempo. Seems as if many of us were on the same page guess we missed the mark fellas!
Congradulations to the winner and Backert Labs for coming up with a great marketing idea to gain exposure to their new pre-amp. Many it seems have become aware of this product that otherwise may not have been paying attention. I wish Backert Labs great success with their new Rhumba! What I can't figure out though is why not Mamba, Samba or Bamba, Merengue or Tango perhaps... what sticks out about Rhumba? Ah well it's just a name, mission accomplished and great fun for the community, well done guys!
Sorry that we couldn't please everybody, but guess you never can! Rhumba felt good in our gut, so we went with it!

Blues... excellent. Also received "Method" (this one took us a while to get... Rhythm .... Method.... see, our company is all about birth control) (but it IS kinda funny)

Rhyme... good one for sure, yes... the BLT -- you wouldn't believe how many people suggested this! Backert Labs Timbre (BLT) -- or just Timbre, that's good by itself too.

Backert Labs Tube preamp (BLT)

Backert Labs Tempo .... etc etc.

PRaT, also good.... we also got Spoiled PRaT, nice!

Arpeggio... a very good one, and our president plays keyboards and sings in a band, so yes we know it :-)
Responding to Tubegroover:
"Congradulations to the winner and Backert Labs for coming up with a great marketing idea to gain exposure to their new pre-amp. I wish Backert Labs great success with their new Rhumba!"
Thank you! It's great to hear your feedback, and everyone else's. Even the non-positive feedback is valuable, please don't hesitate. We really appreciate your checking in, and especially those who submitted names for the giveaway.

"What I can't figure out though is why not Mamba, Samba or Bamba, Merengue or Tango perhaps... what sticks out about Rhumba?"
We like those too! Especially Samba... the president of the company plays the drums, that was his favorite drum cadence in high school marching band... but our flagship model is the Rhythm, so with the Rh- thing you can see how Rhumba is a natural follow-up!
Submitted " &Blues" Brilliant IMO 😄

Congrats to the winner

Good listening

Peter
My next model names nominations will be based on modern dances:

1. "Break"
2. "Techno"
3. "House"

Keeping same pattern is important.
Hey will there be any next model with contest?

I think the theme should be changed tho from Latin dance to money such as

TR -- Tax Refund
JGP -- Just Got Paid
HI -- High Interest
COH -- Cash On Hand
WOL -- Went Over Limit
DTMW -- Don't Tell My Wife
MPL -- My Personal Loan
SMC -- Sold My Car
MSM -- Made Some Money
GR -- Got Raise
CA -- Can't Afford
Ha! You know, one name we actually received was "Cash In Advance 1.1"....

Our next product will likely be a phono pre, sometime in 2016, and hopefully we'll do another giveaway. It was way more work than I thought it would be, but I think it was a really good thing and it certainly felt good giving this away.
-Andy
Are you real? if you will announce the winner by October 15 when you made a thread Oct.20?