Modern Linestages

The good news is that you can find GREAT preamps for very reasonable prices...they just have to be made in China. My dual mono balanced Kavent S33 weighs a ton and is crammed with groovy little parts (no clue what the parts do, but I've taken the top off the thing to gaze fondly at them) assembled beautifully, works perfectly, is quiet, and sounds AMAZING (I made a friend drag his Pass XP10 over and we BOTH thought the Kavent sounded as good or better...sorry Nelson). $1500 or something list, and it looks like a circa 1987 VCR...not sure if that's a bonus. I think "cache'" is a large part of the "audio exotica" costs but if the esthetic rewards are enough, then I say support the "state of the art" if it makes you happy...however, when China makes a car that drives and has the build quality of my BMW for way less money, I'm all over it.

I make the assumption that people on this forum are mature adults who make their own choices and accept whatever consequences there maybe.I also assume the money spent is money they earned and is disposable after their various expenses, income taxes etc.

If people choose to spend 100.00 dollars or 50,000 for audio equiment,jewelry,boats,cars or what else, it`s their own business. They have absolutely no reason to feel guilty because others have less means. Jealousy and envy solve nothing.

Ironically the folks buying these items of "personal choice" are the same ones getting whacked by a silly progressive tax code(the more you make, the more we take). A large chunk of Mike`s 6days/55hours income is`nt his to keep, thanks Uncle Sam.Those who work and earn their money can use it as they see fit.

Better to spend $20k on preamp than on two pairs of custom John Lobb shoes. Personaly, I would do neither.

Marakanetz - 3 pairs inputs (all customized gains by Dr. Peppard per intended devices); 2 pairs outputs. Oh, and no remote either.

A lot of very interesting comments above. Manufacturers charge what the market will bear; too much and they go belly-up; not enough and they don't have the resources to survive tough times and develop new products. I esp. liked Uru975's comment:

If simplicity also meant inexpensive it would be nice. All to often something that is very simply made, almost elegant, is a work of extreme craftsmanship.

Whoever actually wrote the line attributed to Twain- "I'm sorry this letter is so lengthy but I didn't have time to write a shorter one" knew what he or she were talking about it. It is certainly easier to put a bandaid on a problem (more parts, more complex circuit) than is is to design the problem out of the product. Simplicity is the "ne plus ultra" of any design or creation. It should be as simple as possible in order to achieve the designer's intent; no simpler and most certainly no more complex..