SF uses one dual-channel chip per channel to maintain the fully balanced signal paths. It's possible to get gain from these chips, but SF has limited itself to the 95.5dB attenuation range. While Crystal describes these as "digital" controls, they are dual analog attenuators manipulated with digital control signals the audio remains analog. Along the rear, a bank of input relays feeds a pair of Crystal CS3310 volume-control chips. The general layout, parts quality, and wiring are superb. Under the covers, the Line 2 is a beauty. (Though the biasing procedure is clearly explained in the manual, here's one argument against vacuum tubes shot down.) You must open the preamp, put on the gloves, and insert each of the tubes in its socket, as the bias for each has been adjusted at the factory. Sonic Frontiers provides a screwdriver, six 6922 vacuum tubes (each clearly labeled to indicate where it goes in the preamp), and a pair of white cotton gloves (to avoid getting grease and oil on the tubes). Inside, I found a large box containing the preamp, a smaller one for the power supply, and a large foam-lined tray with tools and tubes. The Line 2 impressed me as soon as I opened the shipping carton. So when, in discussions with SF's Chris Johnson about DACs and chips and stuff, he extolled the virtues of the SFCD-1, Line 2, and Power-2, I really couldn't defend my old resolution. After all, today's solid-state stuff is damn good, and who needs the burdens that come with hollow-state devices: added heat, physical vulnerability, component aging, etc.? On the other hand, if the results are worthwhile, why should I care if the designer builds an amp powered by rats on a treadmill? Sure, I have to feed the rats (and clean the cage), but the bottom line is the performance. I began this review grudgingly because I'd made a decision a while back to no longer pursue vacuum-tube electronics. This generation of SF equipment is evidence of their advanced evolution, even though their constructor genome can be detected in the use of audiophile-preferred, as opposed of OEM, components.įor the past few months I've been using a nearly all-SF system consisting of the CD player, Line 2 preamplifier, and Power-2 amplifier. While SF still offers kits (like their high-value Assemblage DAC-2), the new line of vacuum-tube electronics has world-class construction, design, and packaging. Their initial offerings were well received, but their kit origins were apparent in the layout and cosmetics of their products. In just a few years, Sonic Frontiers has evolved from a parts and kit vendor to a full-line audio manufacturer (footnote 1).
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