Few people in the audio business would deny that John Curl is an audio design genius&mdash;arguably the greatest one of our generation. He designed and built the electronics for Mobile Fidelity's SuperMaster and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/478/">David Wilson</A>'s (of Wilson Audio) UltraMaster tape recorders, two of the three best analog recorders in the world. (The other is Keith Johnson's home-brew unit.) He designed the JC-1 head amp and JC-2 preamplifier sold under the Mark Levinson name some years ago. He designed head amps for SOTA, Michaelson & Austin (TVA), and has done consulting work for more high-end companies than you can shake a stick at.

Few people in the audio business would deny that John Curl is an audio design genius&mdash;arguably the greatest one of our generation. He designed and built the electronics for Mobile Fidelity's SuperMaster and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/478/">David Wilson</A>'s (of Wilson Audio) UltraMaster tape recorders, two of the three best analog recorders in the world. (The other is Keith Johnson's home-brew unit.) He designed the JC-1 head amp and JC-2 preamplifier sold under the Mark Levinson name some years ago. He designed head amps for SOTA, Michaelson & Austin (TVA), and has done consulting work for more high-end companies than you can shake a stick at.

Few people in the audio business would deny that John Curl is an audio design genius&mdash;arguably the greatest one of our generation. He designed and built the electronics for Mobile Fidelity's SuperMaster and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/478/">David Wilson</A>'s (of Wilson Audio) UltraMaster tape recorders, two of the three best analog recorders in the world. (The other is Keith Johnson's home-brew unit.) He designed the JC-1 head amp and JC-2 preamplifier sold under the Mark Levinson name some years ago. He designed head amps for SOTA, Michaelson & Austin (TVA), and has done consulting work for more high-end companies than you can shake a stick at.

Few people in the audio business would deny that John Curl is an audio design genius&mdash;arguably the greatest one of our generation. He designed and built the electronics for Mobile Fidelity's SuperMaster and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/478/">David Wilson</A>'s (of Wilson Audio) UltraMaster tape recorders, two of the three best analog recorders in the world. (The other is Keith Johnson's home-brew unit.) He designed the JC-1 head amp and JC-2 preamplifier sold under the Mark Levinson name some years ago. He designed head amps for SOTA, Michaelson & Austin (TVA), and has done consulting work for more high-end companies than you can shake a stick at.

If there is indeed a renaissance of tubes in high-end audio&mdash;and it is clear there is&mdash;much of the blame lies with Audio Research Corporation.

If there is indeed a renaissance of tubes in high-end audio&mdash;and it is clear there is&mdash;much of the blame lies with Audio Research Corporation.

If there is indeed a renaissance of tubes in high-end audio&mdash;and it is clear there is&mdash;much of the blame lies with Audio Research Corporation.

If there is indeed a renaissance of tubes in high-end audio&mdash;and it is clear there is&mdash;much of the blame lies with Audio Research Corporation.

Last September, in Vol.15 No.9, I started my quest for the Ultimate Kilobuck Tube Amp with reviews of the $995 Panor/Dynaco ST70-II and the $1695 Nobis Cantabile. While neither really fit the bill&mdash;the Dynaco fell a bit short in terms of sonics, while the Nobis was priced a bit higher than a thou&mdash;they got me thinking of the Ultimate Kilobuck Tube <I>Preamp</I>. Because the greatest amp in the world can only sound as good as whatever drives it, and there's no sense looking for a kick-ass affordable tube amp if you're going to play Scrooge McDuck when it comes to the preamplifier.

Last September, in Vol.15 No.9, I started my quest for the Ultimate Kilobuck Tube Amp with reviews of the $995 Panor/Dynaco ST70-II and the $1695 Nobis Cantabile. While neither really fit the bill&mdash;the Dynaco fell a bit short in terms of sonics, while the Nobis was priced a bit higher than a thou&mdash;they got me thinking of the Ultimate Kilobuck Tube <I>Preamp</I>. Because the greatest amp in the world can only sound as good as whatever drives it, and there's no sense looking for a kick-ass affordable tube amp if you're going to play Scrooge McDuck when it comes to the preamplifier.