I like the basic and uncluttered design. It definitely LOOKS impressive.

No matter how sophisticated the unit appears, the software is downright buggy. Additionally, I am somewhat annoyed with the ambiguous way that the analog sound modes are described.

I bought this unit along with the Signature 2.1 amp in May 1999. I was employed at Circuit City at the time and was lucky to get both units for less than $2000, with no shipping costs and no taxes. Unfortunately, I had to swap out the preamp because it was defective out of the box. Although I have had fairly good success with the unit over the past yearwhen it works, I have had quite a few software glitches (my version is 2.7), including slow response, unpredictable volume changes, system faults, freeze-ups,etc. I must say that it is quite frightening when the unit all of the sudden jumps from a volume level of 10 up to 80, back down to 50, and then up to 64 before it finally freezes up. HK informed me that my software version is ancient but did not appear too remorseful that their defect almost destroyed $15,000 worth of electronics. Additionally, they told me that only one man in the US is qualified to work on them! Ultimately, my former employer is going to return it back to HK and let me swap out yet another. However, I am not too thrilled with the idea of experimenting with another one. Bottomline: The unit would be great if it was more reliable and less buggy. Still, I cannot imagine someone paying retail for this unit when there are so many other alternatives...Why risk it?