From: soucie@bnr.ca (John Soucie)
Subject: Re: Superphon/Meitner/Dolan
Originator: soucie@bcrks206
Reply-To: soucie@bnr.ca
Organization: Bell Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 23:15:30 GMT


In article <1992Dec15.150123.23942@esrican.uucp>, scarlett@esrican.uucp (Brian Scarlett) writes:
> 
> Do the following audio companies still exist?
> 
> 
>   Meitner (based in Montreal, produced the Pa6i preamp)
> 
>   Dolan   (based in Ottawa)

 Sorry, they (him...Richard Dolan) went out of buisness a year or two ago.
Although their PM-1 pre-amp was very well reviewed I have been told that
their inability to come up with any follow up products really hurt their 
chances at sustaining any momentum. They had an amp that was supposedly
due out but never made it. 
 I bought a brand new PM-1 6 months or so ago from a trashy second hand
stereo store. I just happened to have read a VERY favourable review in the
Canadian high-end magazine UHF and a day or two later I walk into this store
and in amongst the junky amps and receivers for $89.95 sits this PM-1 pre-amp
on a shelf by itself. They wanted CAN$800 for it. I went back and re-read the
review and found out it listed for $2500 and they (UHF) compared it favourably
to their high-buck reference pre-amp. I went back in with some of my own old
hi-fi junk (I mean junk) and managed to get them to take my junk and $680 for
it. I was told that this was one of the last ones built by the company that was
contracted to assemble them. When times got tough, the contracters didn't get
paid so when Dolan finally went bankrupt (or out of buisness?) part of the 
settlement was that they could assemble another 2 or 3 units and put them up
for sale at cost to retreive some money. $800 was supposed to be cost. I even 
got a second set of IC's that were used inside and are apparently hard to find.
I am happy.
 I have since found a local dealer who says that he was involved in it's
development or evaluation and that he does a modification to the pre-amp for
$400 that will improve the soundstaging and other qualities so well that as he
puts it "nothing under $4500 will touch it". I'm very curious about this but
also very skeptical. He claims he rips out the wiring harness among other things
and re-wires the whole unit. Well, if I feel rich......

 Gee...it's great when somebody asks about a piece of equipment you thought
was obscure, available only regionally and also an orphan...and you own one!!! 

> 
>   Superphon (Stan Warren's company, produced the Revelation preamps)
> 
> 
> -- 
> _|_| Environmental Systems Research Institute, CANADA     bscarlett@esri.com
> _|_|    Top 10 Enjoyable Things about ESPN's Formula 1 Coverage:              
>            4. Never know when outbreak of Legionnaire's disease may enable
>               Andrea De Cesaris to finish in the points.    D.Letterman 


P.S...I love your sig. If you are into cars...you know this is SO TRUE!!
      As James Hunt the BBC telecast guy calls him...Andrea De Crasheris!

-- 
The opinions expressed here are the                 John Soucie
opinions of the author and in no way                soucie@bnr.ca
reflect the opinions of Bell Northern
Research.
Newsgroups: rec.audio