I often get a kick out of new and good electronics. It makes my flesh creep. It is just like any other physical experience that usually lasts - let us be honest - no longer than fifteen minutes. After a thirty minutes silent warming up - I couldn't wait any longer - the Matisse made my flesh creep for one whole hour from low in my back to the top of my forehead, and it only stopped when I stopped listening. I just had to regain my breath for I started hyperventilating and got a stomach ache from the tension. I am not exaggerating. I keep notes of my professional listening sessions, and record all sorts of impressions. The sound image of the Matisse was overwhelming, "a cinematoscopic effect" my notes say, "with deep, broad, high, open, exceptional placing". I could put everything in exceeding terms, but that will not help. What I mean is that I never heard such a sound image in my life, not at a demonstration, not at someone else's place. "I wish l could make a slide of this sound image to be able to show it to the readers . . ." I desperately wrote in my notebook.

Hearing the Matisse made an unforgettable impression. It doesn't dominate, like some other pre-amplifiers do. It asks for a friendly, high-ohmed load to achieve the utmost. Even then hearing the Matisse, it does not vanish from the sound. The Matisse is not perfect yet but with the restriction of the choice of the load, the Matisse is allowed as far as I'm concerned to call itself Reference.

I never heard a better pre-amplifier in my whole life !