SAS Audio Labs*

Martin DeWulf, publisher of Bound for Sound, Issue #163: SAS Audio 10A Triode Preamplifier is one of only 3 listed in "Exceptional Merit" catagory.
"I expecially feel that way about the SAS (Audio Labs) 10A, a tube unit of moderate expense that simply stomps a mud hole in just about every active unit made - regardless of price."

Rich Weiner, Reviewer for Bound for Sound, 2004:
"The SAS 10A is the most musically truthful preamp I'm aware of, and I will expand that statement by listing some of the line stages I've had in my otherwise very stable system: Herron VTSP-1, VAC CPA III, VAC Standard LE, Audio Research 3A, ARC 8, ARC 10, Mark Levinson ML-1, Levinson ML-7, Levinson ML-10A, Original Aronov PS-100 and Musical Concepts modification, Nagra PL-P, Beveridge RM-1, Rappaport, Placette Passive - there are more, but you get the point. Until I got the 10A, I struggled to make the other components live up to their potential." (He later purchased and uses the 11A as his reference.)

Review #178, Bound for Sound, 11A Line Triode Preamplifier:
"Direct comparisons to my old friend, the Symfonia Opus 8 ($7,000), revealed the SAS to be cleaner, more transparent and more organic through the midrange... Remember, it was the Symfonia Opus 8 that went toe-to-toe with the exalted CTC Blowtorch ($15,000)." (The CTC Blowtorch team included John Curl, Bob Crump, and Carl Thompson.) March 2010: BFS 199/200, McCormack VRE-1 compared to 11A.

A truly accurate, transparent, neutral triode preamplifier never sounds bright/harsh. It simply "disappears" and becomes "invisible". However, one must be cautioned in that adding a preamplifier also adds an interconnect cable (IC) which can easily alter the sound. So it is important to use a truly accurate IC.

Other manufacturers simply "voice" a component in a "reference" system which will not tell us if that component is actually accurate, lifelike to the music. The more one compensates in each component, the less overall accuracy the system will have. The system might sound good, but is it optimum? Having a truly transparent preamplifier and ICs allows one to concentrate on the source, amplifier and speakers for a more involving, emotional, dynamic, correct soundstaging musical experience.

Here is an important principle. Only the preamplifier and interconnect cables (ICs) can be tested for true dynamic, lifelike, emotional, transparency, "disappearance" type accuracy. If we can "eliminate" the preamplifier and ICs from the audio system equation (because they are totally transparent), then we have eliminated 3 variables we have to deal with. This makes it much easier to match the remaining components and especially the speaker to the room.

By the way, simply removing the preamplifier from the system is not a valid test as one is also removing an IC, changing impedances, and capacitances the source and amplifier sees, which will taint the results.