Heideana Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I'm in the formative phase of thinking about getting either a Juicy Music Peach or Merlin or the Bottlehead Foreplay III upgrade kit and building my own pre-amp...any thoughts from folks on the sonic merits of one over the other? I have no need for phone pre-amp... I'll admit that I'm intrigued by the idea of building my own and easy access to roll tubes [8-|]...on the other hand, I'm not literate enough to know if Juicy Music pre-amps are better...[8-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 17, 2006 Author Share Posted October 17, 2006 Speaking of Bottlehead, does this look like a good deal? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=011&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=320037996921&rd=1&rd=1 Thanks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 for preamps, I don't think you can beat Mark's service or product...Merlin is a nice way in the door (kit is even less) and the BlueBerry or Peach is sweet...literally! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 MERLIN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleJ Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I agree!!! Merlin or the Peach. Doesn't Mark offer a DIY Preamp now? JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Thanks all! I'm putting a peach on my want list in my ever changing audio world....[8-|] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Heideana, You've gotten some good advice here, IMO. The DIY aspect of the Bottlehead is pretty neat. However, I think any of the JM options are winners with any setup I can imagine. I've been a Peach owner and couldn't pass up the Merlin. It's a cute little brick. I couldn't tell any difference at all in the sound between Peach and Merlin. If you don't need all the Peach features, the Merlin is a bang for the buck champ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Thanks Daddy Dee...the forum has steered in the right direction and its' always appreciated. My needs are somewhere between Peach and Merlin....I don't need the HT/Impedence stuff, but would like 4 inputs making the Peach my option... I thought about jumping and getting a Merlin, but I know I'd be unhappy with only three inputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleJ Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 ahhh...Just buy both of them!! [] I was in the same boat as you are. Merlin..Peach...Peach..Merlin.. Went with the Peach because of the HT by pass and more inputs. I finally got to see a Merlin up close at this year's Pilgrimage and it sure is a nice unit. Didn't get a chance to listen to it because the "decible" boys had it WAY!!! too loud for me in the listening room..(You know who you are!!![] ) Good luck in your choice..You want be disappointed. JJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 I corresponded recently with another Houston forum member who has one of the later version of the Foreplay, and it made me want to go have a look. From what I see, the new Foreplay really looks good! I built different versions of the same preamp on my own over the past nearly 10 years, but this newest edition looks pretty awesome. For a factory built preamp, the Peach is great, and I'm sure the kit version of the Merlin will be excellent. The newest little Foreplay looks great, though, and it's a design I have always liked. They have a pretty good write-up of the kit with photos on the Bottlehead site. The price is also below $400.00 Transcendent Sound also makes a fantastic linestage kit called the Grounded Grid. It has potential for great versality with some understanding of how to wire balance or input level controls, but the circuit itself is superb. Not tube rectified. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 ahhh...Just buy both of them!! [] I was in the same boat as you are. Merlin..Peach...Peach..Merlin.. Went with the Peach because of the HT by pass and more inputs. I finally got to see a Merlin up close at this year's Pilgrimage and it sure is a nice unit. Didn't get a chance to listen to it because the "decible" boys had it WAY!!! too loud for me in the listening room..(You know who you are!!![] ) Good luck in your choice..You want be disappointed. JJ I didn't want to do it, but JC and Kaiser overpowered me.[][<)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 So late last night, heady in the fumes of recording on RTR again (the first time in almost 20 years [] ) I was musing on how open the new Quantegy GP9 tape running on the Tascam 32 made a digital copy of Electric Ladyland sound. The machine was biased for Quantegy 456 and the GP9 was hotter, so I was sure I was having all kinds of eq issues, but I was hearing details I hadn't really heard before, just kinda dreamt where there, since I first heard this work in 9th grade...or maybe it was 8th...anyhow, I digressjust a sketch of my RTR mindset while I was reading another review of Juicy Music products with their transparency and ability to render an openness to recordings as my mouse ran over the buy with PayPal button and I pushed it! <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Just like that, I pushed the purchase button and made my decision to buy Merlin to add some magic to my Tascam, so to speak, for exploring the recording engineering classicsI couldnt help it, it was so easy and both my amp, with its passive volume control, and my CW IIIs whispered that Merlin was the next critical element.... Mark told me it should be here next week. I just have to remember no more toys for a while[A]Oh yeah right[6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Yes, it can indeed be dangerous to roll the mouse cursor over a PayPal link. Especially, tempting when visiting juicymusicaudio.com Enjoy Merlin! Quite an impressive little brick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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