Will the new C.A.T. LEGEND be the ultimate preamp?

I am sure the new Cat is worth consideration. At that level,
the others that come to my mind are Nick Doshi and Messenger.
I am a happy owner of the Messenger, but would love to hear
the Legend or Doshi in my system. I actually have not heard
either.

Hi,the Legend does exist and I do own one and no I am not a dealer just a convergent audio lover.It is 18000.00 with phono 16000.00 sans phono.It is a major step up from the ultimate but it is cut from the same cloth,I could go own about transparency,air,soundstage and dynamics but it is not a subtle difference.Also it has built it step-up 4to1 ratio transformers that can switched in or out for low output moving coils that work great.I believe the legend and the jl3s are a dream match and recommend anyone with jl3s to check it out.If you want to see the legend in my system check out my system posting for a picture.Ken has also just come out with a upgrade for the ultimate with the built in transformers and a new name.Hope this helps.
Robert

Strapper211, good to see a real life sighting. I assume, rightly or wrongly, that you previously owned the SL1 Ultimate, do you find the improvements in both the linestage and phono stage equally?

Hi,yes I had the Ultimate mk1 then mk2 before the Legend.I do not use digital so I am a bit of a disadvantage talking about the legend linestage,but through the phono that uses the linestage it is a massive improvement in transparency,air,soundstageing and layering of the music and because of the step-up transformers with the koetsu coral an incredible dynamic range.I do use the magnum dynalab md109 through the linestage and it sounds fantastic,but how much is the tuner and how much the legend I don't know.My advice is if you care enough about your music to use the jl2s or jl3s then definitely look into the Legend.
Robert

I talked to Ken yesterday for about two hours. The replacement for the Ultimate 2 is called the Renaissance. It retails for $7995 line only and $9995 with phono which also uses the step-ups, teflon boards and a couple other changes I don't recall. He said it was a pretty significant improvement over the Ultimate.

He's quite proud of the Legend and as previously described, it is another step or two above the Renaissance. I've only heard it at CES which means nothing but having owned an early SL-1 Sig, Sig 2, Sig 3, Ultimate and Ultimate 2, I have a pretty good idea of what he's achieved with the new models. Always very good stuff!