****Why would you want to get a preamp that old? Generally speaking,
preamps have gotten much better overall between then and now.****
Because they are both excellent phono preamps, and one would be hard
pressed to find similar quality in current pieces for the amount that these
two sell for used.
First of all the Fet-10 pc is a stand alone phono preamp, the Motif is full
featured with built in phono. Perhaps you are referring to the Fet-10 line
stage and phono stage. I lived with a Fet-10 pc for a couple of years back
in the day. While I never owned the Motif, I heard it fairly extensively in at
least three systems around the same time period. If memory serves, the
Motif was very highly regarded by reviewers of the two major audio mags;
particularly TAS which considered it one of the best available preamps and
the first solid state preamp to truly have many of the qualities of tube
preamps, not surprising considering who the designers were. I thought that
the Motif was excellent, and while nothing sounds like a true tube circuit, it
is on the warm side compared to most ss phono pre's that I have heard. It
has a certain "rightness" that makes it easy to listen to. Build quality is top
notch.
Like I said, I used a Fet-10 pc for a few years gong into the line stages of,
respectively, a Counterpoint 5.1, Modulus 2D, and Mod Squad passive pre.
It was a remarkably quiet phono stage with tons of gain for the low output
MC's that I used back then; and the reason that I bought it. It had the most
stable image stability of any preamp that I have ever used, a remarkable
amount of detail in a very large soundstage, and great bass. For a ss
preamp it was pretty smooth with very little harshness. But, and the deal-
breaker for me, it definitely had an obvious electronic flavor in it's tonal
signature; it was clearly a "Hi-FI" sounding piece of equipment
that never let you forget that you were listening to your stereo and not
simply music. If it were my choice I would go with the Motif. Good luck.
