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  1. #1
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    Good idea, or, just not willing to commit?

    I learned about Musical Designs tube preamp the Camileon. What caught my interest was the fact that you can change circuit boards in this preamp. For example, one board uses a single 6922 where another uses two 12AU7. You can even select feedback or no feedback. There could be others but that's all I heard about.

    John Hillig is the man behind Musical Designs. Apparently, he got started back around 79 doing mods to other brand amps. Now he is putting out some gear of his own.

    So thoughts on being able to swap boards in your preamp?

  2. #2
    Forum Regular blackraven's Avatar
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    It would certainly add extra cost but if you have the money why not. Some DAC's allow you to switch between SS and tubes. My Parasound amp uses totally different circuits for XLR and unbalanced inputs so the idea is not new.
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  3. #3
    Vinyl Fundamentalist Forums Moderator poppachubby's Avatar
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    When you say "you", does that mean the mods are done by the customer, or would you have to send it back to him?

    I think it's a great idea! I'm all for companies which put some power into their clients hands, rather than limit accessibility or capability.

    It would be interesting to assess the costs of say, modding it yourself vs. having a tech do it vs. sending it back to the manufacturer.

    He's got a great concept but will only be able to sell to a limited market.

  4. #4
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    No, BR, this is different from just flipping a switch. No sending it back to manufacturer either. The preamp has five different circuit boards to choose from. I guess you select which one comes in the preamp and if you want one of the others to try you just take one out and pop the new one in. I'm not sure how the swap is physically done but it's supposed to be quick and clean. The website don't have all the info yet but here's what it looks like: http://www.musicaldesign.com/MC_Cham.html

    Arcam's old Alpha series CD players allowed upgrade to the next level by a module swap but it had to be done by the dealer. This is the first time I've heard of an internal change to a piece of equipment like this preamp. It's more similar to being able to change cartridges to achieve a different sound. In this case you just swap the board which has a different type of tube and who knows what else. i did hear feedback will be a choice.

  5. #5
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    I heard this Musical Designs preamp and power amp today. The pre is $1495.00 there are five boards to choose from and each additional board is $95.00. Although the board, is just that a circuit board that snaps in and out it looks like something you wouldn't want to do a lot unless you were really careful. You have to line up the pins on the bottom of the board and once pressed into place the corners snap down. Each board has a slightly different sonic character and some are built around different tubes.

    The system had a Vincent CD player for source and drove a Gallo set up. The Gallo set up including stands and matched sub was around $3500.00. The MD power amp is rated at 75 wpc. The system sounded very good but as I'm not familiar with any individual piece it's hard to get an impression of any certain one. The Gallo was very nice, it provided detail and plenty of air. I'm assuming the electronics were exceptional as they allowed the Gallo to do their thing. Coming in at a total of around $7k this system wouldn't be considered modest but it sounded better than one would expect. The Gallo are very interesting aside from the unique look, I mentioned the air around instruments but it's more like a void, no sense of darkness or noise or anything. Hard to put into words but I'd encourage any one to give them a listen if the chance was to come up.

  6. #6
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    The preamp sounds like a great idea for people who love to experiment. However, I think the main drawback would be some inevitable compromises. For example, to make the boards switchable, there would be some inevitable extra distance or layout issues in the circuit paths of at least some of the boards to allow interchangeability.

    Also, DC voltages may be limited to a value that works for all the boards, but may not be optimum for some.

    My experience is that multi-purpose tools can be very handy, but they are never quite as good as one that is dedicated and optimized for a specific purpose.

  7. #7
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    mlsstl, are you familiar with this company? He is in our area, I think up in St. Charles. He is Musical Concepts who does the mods on many amps like Hafler and Dynaco, then he decided to make his own gear under Musical Designs. Another guy in our area is displaying the gear in his house. If you'd be interested in seeing it let me know and I can forward you some info. I'd be interested in your opinion on the Gallo speakers as well.

  8. #8
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    I've not seen any the Musical Concepts/Design products myself. I was just talking in terms of practicality. If an amp allows different circuit boards to easily pop in and out that means a common connection interface is needed for every circuit board and that may involve some circuit layout compromises.

    As for the Gallo speakers, I've always heard nice things about them but can't say I've ever heard a pair. The appearance alone would likely preclude me from owning a pair - just not quite to my taste in design.

    I certainly wouldn't mind hearing a pair; it'd just be a matter of figuring out when and where. Seems like life is going 100 mph these days. I always thought things were supposed to slow down for empty nesters. The opposite seems to the case for my wife and me. ;-)

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