“I really didn’t think all that much was ‘missing’ with the Aikido
linestage. To my amazement, the LDR peeled off several layers of haze,
grunge, and confusion.“
“I’ll say right from the outset – the improvement the LDR made in my system was not subtle.“
“The LDR is good enough that even with the extra interconnect, it easily outperformed the preamp sections of the two integrated amps I’ve had on hand – the Sugden as well as my Yaqin MS-20L.”
“The difference it makes to the sound is astonishing. I echo what others have said: clarity, purity, sound stage. But I particularly agree with “clean”. It’s really unbelievably clean. And natural. Very very natural sound. And the one thing that I don’t think others have mentioned but which is really striking in my system is the bass. Huge extra bass depth and slam…”
“…you would be hard-pressed—regardless of budget—to find a preamplifier, passive or active, that delivers your music with less editorializing than the Tortuga Audio LDR3.V2.”
“….let me be clear. I love it! First listen after completing assembly was to LPs, with the turntable feeding into the Meitner’s phono section and from the Tape Out (fixed level) jacks into the Tortuga. Sound quality is noticeably better than through the Meitner’s own line stage, top to bottom, with a veil removed and better controlled bass very apparent. There have been many, many goosebump moments, with familiar albums often taking on a new beauty thanks to the Tortuga’s superb performance. Make no mistake, this is a relatively inexpensive preamp with exceptional accuracy that does not in any way add to or subtract from the original recording, IMHO.”
“The Tortuga Audio preamp equaled or surpassed all basic performance parameters against any contenders I had in house, passive, active, tube, FET and at any price level with regards to faithfulness.”
“Music through the LDR6 is an ephemeral experience. It dances with fire for a brief shining moment and disappears, leaving you wanting more.”
“Today I received the LDR3x board and I am FLOORED by the sound quality. I’ve been using a TVC [transformer volume control] for several years and was very happy, but the LDR simply blows it away. I am hearing detail I never knew existed in recordings I have listened to hundreds of time before. Bass is better, treble is clearer, etc….the sound is killer. I am retired and have been pursuing this hobby seriously for 40 years. The last 20 years of my career was as a music wholesale salesperson – I worked for Telarc for 7 years and then for an indie distributor where I sold several audiophile labels, so I have some serious experience listening. This volume control is fabulous.”
“I have just installed the Tortuga LDR board and can say that it is the be all end all of volume controls. It is dead silent and any level changes are seamless and silky smooth. I believe the vision of the Melos circuit of the mid 90s has finally been fullfilled. If you must have the absolute best, look no further.”
“There is just a sense of absolutely everything having been stripped free of fuzz and imprecision. Instrumental placement isn’t approximate or inferred. Instead, instruments are precisely located at a fixed and exact distance from the others with the space between performers and the characteristics of the recording environment jaw-droppingly obvious.”
“… the LDR6 produces a sound completely free of colouration, with a soundstage that was just consistently deeper and better resolved than with any other passive pre-amp I have ever used.”
“I have an LDR-1 and it is fabulous. Best preamp I ever owned at any price. When I bought it I thought I would get super transparent sound at the cost of thinning things out. Usually, that is the price for transparency. I took the risk anyway. I was dead wrong. The transparency is indeed the best I ever heard – but it is so full sounding – I can’t believe my ears. Now, warm and full are not the same. It is not warm. It is truthful to the recording. Regardless, it is that fullness and weight and supreme smoothness without sounding bloated and without giving up one iota of detail which makes this a world class product. I doubt things could get more than 5% better at any price- even $100,000. The LDR1 is the most perfect preamp I could ever imagine.”
“The LDRx seemed to be a perfect fit despite its affordable pricing, helping the system have a clear and transparent presentation, wide stage, and big dynamic contrasts, kudos for bringing such great performance at a low cost.”
“The sound here had my friend contemplating a purchase, beautiful workmanship and elegant, yet exciting sound, great room.”
“What an experience! Truly the best sound I’ve ever heard in my system. A layer of “mush” has disappeared and angry high S’es are now pleasant. More details and less harshness, especially in mid-upper-high range compared to the EC4.6. It is absolutely marvellous at low levels, the pot-meters in other preamps I’ve had were all out of balance in the channels at extreme low volumes, now it’s all in perfect balance from 1 through 99 with a beautiful room experience, width and depth in the music.”
“I’m rediscovering my entire music collection, and have been reduced to tears by things I thought I knew.”
“…the first time I’ve heard a system where the amps were nothing special and the preamp section and an installed tube buffer made everything work so magically.”
“Open, easy, organic, transparent etc., and – above all else – natural. It makes other preamps (esp. active ones) sound electronic and mechanical.”
“I can honestly say though even at $2695 this unit will easily blow away stuff that is 3x the cost. Actually, come to think of it, I’m not sure what else one could want no matter the cost unless you want fancy aluminum cases and bragging rights.”
“What did the LDR3.V2 do for the sound? To my surprise, a sense of even more transparency. There are details in the midrange and treble that are just more obvious now. The treble seems more extended, but there was absolutely no change in tone. I don’t know why this is possible. I can’t perceive a lower noise floor. Vocals are even more realistic, and everything has increased texture and is more palpable. But the best thing of all is the increased speed of transients. Everything has an immediacy to it. This even translates to the bass. Kick drums have speed and an authority that is impressive. There is a tremendous amount of quick energy there that just wows me on many tracks. The music has real life and intensity. It blows me away. Easily the best I’ve heard. And I don’t perceive any loss of dynamics and any volume. “
“This Tortuga is amazing. It is just like the review in Absolute Sound: The ultimate in transparency.”
“…capable of transporting the listener to a higher plane of sonic enlightenment, and that’s exactly what a sound system should do..”
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