Adcom is a very impressive American hi-fi company which has captured the mid-fi market and with some of its components offers an entry way into the realm of high end audio sound reproduction. My friend George--the only person on the planet who can "hear" the magnetic field in my Carver 1.0t amplifier--just got a brand spankin' new Adcom GTP-600 line stage preamplifier/tuner/surround sound processor. It's pretty nifty and has a great learning remote control. I like what it can do and find that it is provides a fine soundstage with clarity and superb detail of the musical source (CD, mini-disc, cassette). It images well and is quite analytic. It is mercyless with poorly produced sound sources and reveals all the production/recording flaws. It should be used with good equipment and complements well the Adcom GFA-5500 amplifier. I could easily live with this preamplifier; however, it's lack of a phono preamplifier is disturbing. Most audiophiles still listen to records and some of us even prefer records to CD's, mini-discs, and even reel-to-reel tape. I find that many companies making preamps have left off the phone stage or will provide a pho9ne card for 50 or 100 or more dollars (at least one can have it if one wants it). I'd rather not have to purchase a separate phono preamplifier (I suppose one could get a really terrific one that way, but at what cost?). Hence, I'd not consider buying a line stage preamp. As well, the built in tuner is quite shabby when compared to separates on the market (try Naim or Quad or NAD or even Rotel). My 300 dollar Rotel 950BX clearly out performs that tuner in the Adcom GTP-600 as far as FM is concerned--the Rotel has a better soundstage and more musical sound presentation. I didn't check it out, but on other Adcom tuner/preamps, I have heard the FM signal bleeding through on the quiet passages of classical music or when no music is playing but the selector is on CD or tape. Of course, one can tune between stations where there is some dead air, but this seems to be absurd on a supposed quality audio product. I have yet to hear the surround sound processor. I expect with it will be quite fine. I like Adcom products and would definately audition Adcom gear when shopping for new stereo equipment. Still, I would demand a preamplifier sans tuner or surround sound processing (I think that a home theatre setup is different than a music listening setup). I would want a preamplifier which has tubes (solid state bores me) and a MC phono stage. A remote control would be fine--that is a plus. I think that the most impressive feature, aside from decent sound quality, is that there is a red LED on the volume knob so one knows from a distance what the volume is at. I think that this preamplifier/tuner is quite alright and is worth a listen. I would recommend it--especially to those who have given up on vinyl or those who don't mind the separate phono stage. This is an above average mid-fi component and even though I'd give it a miss as it doesn't satisfy my needs, it is darn fine.