And what about that opamp? It sounded somewhat grainy with the HA-1 but is the furthest thing from with the Prehead. Meier likened the LM6171 to a Diva: "Treat her well and she sounds gorgeous. Treat her badly and she will sound harsh and grainy." Meier went on to explain that the opamp is prone to oscillation and very sensitive to operating conditions such as a stable power supply, class A bias, output buffers, etc.
When I preordered my Prehead, I decided to take the chef's word. Meier warns, however, that the LM6171 is extremely transparent and for this reason offers an option of the AD8610 opamp for a slightly softer and more forgiving sound. I've not had opportunity to make this comparison myself but the AD8610 sure made the META42 sing.
