Bound for Sound/96
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| COMPONENT OF
EXCEPTIONAL MERIT - Bound for Sound Magazine/1996
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| AUDIBLE ILLUSIONS MODULUS 3 phono and line
stage: $1,895. Actually the Modulus 3 is now a Modulus 3A due to improvements in the
design, hence the increase in price. But, this is one price increase that we all can live
with, and even embrace. Embrace!? A manufacturer needs to make a profit in order to stay
in business. And, while some of the absolutely crazy prices charged by some are nothing
short of highway robbery, we want to see manufacturers make a fair profit so we can see
their components on the market year after year. Hence, I can't complain about the price
increase here because the Modulus 3A warrants every dollar being charged-and then some.
Otherwise it wouldn't be "Exceptional". One change that I'm aware of with the Modulus is a switch that can be used to disconnect the caps in the line section that two years ago I had to snip out. How you feel about the caps in the circuit is a taste thing, but to these ears, the M3 captured the "fuzz on the peach" with these caps removed, exhibiting outstanding low level resolution and presence. But, that doesn't explain the phenomenal consumer loyalty that this preamp has year after year. What sets this preamp apart from the others at the price point is the consumer expectation that when a person buys the M3, he may just be buying one of the best preamps one can buy...period! It has a reputation, and appropriately so, for being more accurate and revealing than anything else; a true no compromise design regardless of what was paid for it. They may be right. This my friends is a landmark product, a product that warrants all the accolades that one can heap upon it. Martin G. DeWulf, Publisher |
