“This superbly crafted Swiss unit uses twin lead-acid battery power supplies (one for each channel) and twin, silver-wire, toroidal-core step-up transformers, followed by active solid-state circuitryfor RIAA and a toroidal-core output transformer, to generate 70dB of gain—quite enough, it would appear, to avoid the usual pitfall of transformer-based phonostages (to wit, dynamic compression). Though no fan of transformer-based phono preamps (or of units without capacitive loading) in the past, JV finds the Silver Rock to be an exception. Paired with CH Precision’s M1/L1 (or other high-qual- ity tube or solid-state electronics), the thing simply sounds like the absolute. While not quite as hard-hitting in the bass as phonostages without transformers, it is so neutral and natural in timbre ev- erywhere else, so extraordinarily high in detail, and so quick on transients JV doesn’t care. Nor should you. Perhaps the highest-resolution phono preamp JV has auditioned—and in the midband one of the most fool-you realistic—the Audio Consulting Silver Rock richly deserves the second of TAS’ 2017 Phonostage of the Year Awards. “ - Jonathan Valin -
"It is a clean sound, like only battery power provides; a pure sound, like only passives allow. With links to the past in its naturalism and aspects of contemporary in its dynamics and resolution—still, it bears little resemblance to modern digital. In fact, this type of reproduction only points out how artificial modern digital really is." - Marshall Nack, Positive Feedback - read more..
