I dropped the USP-1 into my main system tonight for a short listen. It's a very good preamp. The sound stage is as large as any of the high end preamps I've used. The bass plays very low. It seems the mid bass may be a bit light and perhaps this is to accentuate the midrange and allow more detail to shine through. The kick drums are tight and hit, the region I'm talking about is more in the electric bass area. The highs to me do not seem to be extended, but maybe a bit pronounced in the 10k area as to not tip some one off. The overall sound I'd say was neutral, bass varied from recording to recording and the preamp was not forgiving on bad recordings. The sound reminds me a lot of the ERC-1 except the USP-1 has a strong bottom octave and maybe a bit more musical. Certain cymbals didn't sound natural and I'm fixing to play those CD's through my CJ preamp when it warms up to see if it's the recording or the USP-1. I hope I don't sound overly critical, my comments were as comparing to a high end preamp. Trust me, when I say the USP-1 is an excellent value.