Darn good pre before the upgrade.
Great feature set.
Musical and easy to listen to.
Low volume listening is very good.
Loud is even better, never gets uncomfortable and I've had it way up the dial.
Mates very well with S.S. amp.
Inexpensive tube complement.
Easily serviced, many tweeks/upgrades available.

After upgrade:
Absolutely wonderfull in all respects.

May be a little bit noisey in regard to tube hiss but must be right up to the speaker to hear it.
Bottom 3rd of volume controll (stock or otherwise) yields no sound, must be above 30 points on digital V.C. to get sound.

Purchased the Line2 used locally here in Vancouver B.C. This is my first tube pre-amp and have enjoyed it so far. I puchased this as a stock unit and was quite happy with the sound and feature set until I managed to damage it. Sent it to Parts Connexion (Chris Johnson former S.F. president) to be looked at and decided to have it upgraded to "SE+" version complete with new volume chips and related power supply upgrade. Not cheap, but well worth it. The difference is amazing to say the least. Overall improvements include: dynamics, low end depth and tighter bass, mid-range clarity to die for female voices (male as well) are so natural and unforced, great high freq extention no fatigue what so ever.
This is a gem of a pre-amp and will remain in my system for quite some time.

Associated equipment:
S.F. Line2 SE+ upgrade
Odyssey Audio - Extreme Mono SE+ (mono blocks)
Cary CD308 (CD player)
Sony 333ES (5 disc CD/SACD player)
Paradigm Studio Ref. 60V2 (full range floor stand speakers)
Paradigm Servo 15 (Sub woofer)

Customer Service

Both Anthem (Sonic Frontiers) and Parts Connexion have responded in a positive manner when contacted.

Similar Products Used:

None that compare to this.

Darn good pre before the upgrade.
Great feature set.
Musical and easy to listen to.
Low volume listening is very good.
Loud is even better, never gets uncomfortable and I've had it way up the dial.
Mates very well with S.S. amp.
Inexpensive tube complement.
Easily serviced, many tweeks/upgrades available.

After upgrade:
Absolutely wonderfull in all respects.

May be a little bit noisey in regard to tube hiss but must be right up to the speaker to hear it.
Bottom 3rd of volume controll (stock or otherwise) yields no sound, must be above 30 points on digital V.C. to get sound.

Purchased the Line2 used locally here in Vancouver B.C. This is my first tube pre-amp and have enjoyed it so far. I puchased this as a stock unit and was quite happy with the sound and feature set until I managed to damage it. Sent it to Parts Connexion (Chris Johnson former S.F. president) to be looked at and decided to have it upgraded to "SE+" version complete with new volume chips and related power supply upgrade. Not cheap, but well worth it. The difference is amazing to say the least. Overall improvements include: dynamics, low end depth and tighter bass, mid-range clarity to die for female voices (male as well) are so natural and unforced, great high freq extention no fatigue what so ever.
This is a gem of a pre-amp and will remain in my system for quite some time.

Associated equipment:
S.F. Line2 SE+ upgrade
Odyssey Audio - Extreme Mono SE+ (mono blocks)
Cary CD308 (CD player)
Sony 333ES (5 disc CD/SACD player)
Paradigm Studio Ref. 60V2 (full range floor stand speakers)
Paradigm Servo 15 (Sub woofer)

Customer Service

Both Anthem (Sonic Frontiers) and Parts Connexion have responded in a positive manner when contacted.

Similar Products Used:

None that compare to this.

looks
natural sound

thin
no substance
too pricey

I'll make short and sweet.
This is a entry level pre-amp. Even though the price doesn't reflect that. Nice build quality. Handsome to look at and that's about it.
Very thin in dynamics and has no weight to the presentation. This is for the hobbyist just starting out on this journey. If for some reason you listen to ARC or CJ products. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!! You will be pissed off. If you don't believe me, email me and I will give you the 411.

Similar Products Used:

Krell
CJ
ARC
Linn
Joule

I wish I still have any positive thing to say.

Blown up on me for no reason. Nuff said.

The power supply's transformer smoked by itself for no reason after a month of use, and toasted numerous parts in the main unit. 4 weeks of downtime, $350 bill, shipping to Canada. What a disaster. Of all 40+ preamps I owned, only 3 ever choked on me. My 1st LINE 3 (also my very first preamp) was an refurb sham from Kevin Deal @ Upscale Audio - even I paid full price - and went thru 3 weeks of hell to get an working unit. The 2nd was Krell PMA3 (I think, the dual mono one with dual external power supplies) - it was an DOA from an dishonest eBay seller. The 3rd one is this Line 2. DOn't expect the sweet sound from this 6922 based tube preamp. I think $1500 is way overpriced. Go with Audio Research. You can't go wrong.

Similar Products Used:

Sonic Frontiers LINE 3; SFL-1; Krell ??MA3; Mark Levinson ML23; McIntosh C26/C20/MX110; Counterpoint SA5000; VTL 2.5; Classe CP60; ..... too many to remember (just like I don't recall where my $$$$ went in this hobby)

Beautiful sound when it works

comatose for the most part

Unreliable piece of junk!!! The unit could not get out of the "mute" mode 75% of the time. It has been serviced twice by Sonic Frontier. Unfortunatelly, the people AT SF are clueless!!!

Similar Products Used:

Krell KBL

remote convinience, quiet, analytical

not very musical (may improve if replaced by NOS tubes)

My audio dealer asked me to lend my Jadis JPL to one of his client. He had interaction problem between his Wadia 850 and SF Line 2. I the took the Line 2 back home for temporary use. Although very clean, quiet, and with remote, the sound of Line 2 is not as musical as either JPL or Unison Research Mystery One that I owned. That client ended up buying my JPL. As for me, I returned Line 2 and bought a used Accuphase C-290, superior to all the above units.

Similar Products Used:

Jadis JPL, Unison Research Mystery One

Clear detailed sound

Out board power supply

A well built unit with a very "transistor" like sound for tubes. Quiet operation, nice functionality but the sound is a little bright and up front. Sound can be fatiguing after a while and has a tilted sound in the high frequencies. Recommended if speakers are warm and need a boost up top, if speakers sound lean or bright I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Similar Products Used:

Krell KRC-3, ML-380, Spectral DMC-12, CJ PV-14

add no coloration

none

i was using my cd player with direct connection to my power amp.but now what a difference.no romantic coloration that soma almost any of the tubes amps add.deep sound 3d feel.very good built quality.separate power is excellent!silent.only a slight tube hiss when you are very close to speakers.state of art!!

Similar Products Used:

krell

transparent

none

tight extended bass, very transparent warm crystal clear midrange,detailed highs.overall very good soundstage, openness, liquid sound. excellent parts and built quality.incredible power supply.one of the best.

Similar Products Used:

various

Terrific midrange and soundstage. Bottom competes with some of the better solid state preamps I've had.

Extreme top is very nice and "real", but some of the better solid state preamps have just a bit more sparkle. This is not a problem, just a minor difference.

About three months ago, I purchased the new "Special Edition" of the Line 2. Break-in seemed to take a while. Kevin Deal of Upscale Audio suggested about seventy five hours just to get the tubes to settle. I found that it seemed to take an additional hundred hours of playing time for the sound to fully develop. The amp is very quiet; in fact, I can't tell the difference between it and the Coda or Classe 47.5.

User controls and remote operation are some of the best I've seen; a total pleasure. The sound is neither honey coated nor flat and electronic. It has nicely moved my system another substantial step towards a natural, emotionally engaging sound.

Amp: Classe CA301
Preamp: Sonic Frontiers Line 2 Special Edition
DAC: EVS Millenium II
Transport: EVS Modified Sony
Speakers: Vandersteen 3A Signature
Interconnects: Wireworld Eclipse
Speaker Cables: Analysis Plus Silver and Oval 9 biwire

Similar Products Used:

In recent years, Coda and Classe solid state preamps.