Price Paid:  $100.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Like the other reviewers, I think these little wonders are wonderful. I have an old school pair that are about 5 yrs old and I''''m just blown away. I can''''t imagine what the new ones sound like. My amps are 200KOhm input impedance and my sources are Tuner (2 volts) and CDP (2volts). I don''''t have to turn them up very much to get full volume. Be sure to test your system to verify compatibility before buying. Plug in your CDP directly to the power amp and press play with your finger on the stop button. If it''''s really loud than you''''re good.

Strengths:
TRANSPARENT, imaging is better than anything I''''ve ever heard before. Bass is very controlled, almost spooky!

Weaknesses:
NONE

Similar Products Used:
Rogue Magnum 66, Anthem pre, DIY pre, other active pre amps.

Summary:
These are by far the best attenuators I have heard to date. Especially for their price of only $225.00. They are a high end audio steal. If you have a all CD playback system you must audition these EVS attenuators directly connected to your amp. They let all of the sound through with no holding back. The increase in transparency, soundstage, and inner detail is amazing. They will let you hear what your system is capable of or not capable of. You can more easily spot any weakness in your system. The sound just comes alive, even poor recordings seem to benefit. Plus there is a quieter background. The EVS attenuators are amazingly fast as well. Sounds float forever in space. You can start picking out more inner details in the music that makes you want to tweak more. And thats what Ric at EVS helps you to do. All his products I have tried have been truly high end bargins!!! Why spend ridiculous amounts of money when you do not have to. Just talk to Ric. I am patiently waiting the arrival of his new Millenium 2 DAC which is supposed to be so much better than his current Millenium DAC. I presently have his Millenium DAC which I think is fabulous. Plus there is a digital amp on the drawing board based on the hot Bel Canto design, which Ric is going to improve upon. You owe it to yourself before dropping any additional funds on high end audio to go to Ric's site at www.tweakaudio.com. If I could give this product more than 5 stars I would not hesitate. I have said it before, Ric is a tremendous asset to the high end community!!!.

Current System:
EVS Millenium DAC
EVS modified Sony transport
EVS Digital cable
EVS Ultimate attenuators
Blue Circle BC-2 monoblock amps
Newform Research R645 Ribbon loudspeakers
Omega Micro interconnects and speaker cables
Tekline PC12W powercords
Stealth Audio Signature powercords

Strengths:
Transparency, soundstage, inner detail, incredible value

Weaknesses:
none in a direct CD playback system

Summary:
As far as I know, the evs attenuators are the most transparent preamp (if you want to call them that ;-) out there! And for $225/pair, they are a fantastic buy.

Strengths:
Extreme transparency

Weaknesses:
No source switching capability; no remote.

Summary:
A $225 pair of these palm-sized units replace a preamp. These are basically ultra-high quality attenuators that are plugged into your 2-channel amp's inputs. If you have a CD player, your setup is CD > interconnect > attenuators > amp.
These units only control volume and balance. They do not have switching capabilities like a regular preamp. This product is absolutely ideal of you listen to only one source (i.e. CD). Signal path is a few inches.

No components that I know of can improve the music already in the recording. You can only hope that your components let the music through, uncolored and other wise unaffected by that component. You cannot get a simpler, purer "preamp", than the EVS units.

The sound? Well, with one less set of interconnects and such a short signal path, you expect more music to come through. It does. In a big way. As excellent as my Adcom 565 was, no contest. Bass is noticeably deeper and I hear details (reverb, echo, decay) in my recording that never before came through. Soundstage is no longer close to the floor, it is MUCH deeper and has gone further outside the speakers. I finally have experienced "transparency" in a way like looking out through a perfectly clean window into a sunny day. You cannot get a better sounding "preamp". Period. Only way to purer sound is to plug your CD player directly into your amp (WATCH OUT!).

Even if you get a CD player with a volume control built-in, the quality of THAT attenuator is probably nowhere near that of the hand-built, Vishay resistor EVS attenuator. These small units look and feel like they were built for NASA.

This is totally honest product that achieved Stereophile's Class "A" rating, and with damn good reason. The cost of this product is virtually ZERO when you realize that this product eliminates the need for a second set of interconnects. I paid for my attenuators with money I got from selling a pair of Transparent interconnects.

These attenuators are NOT compatible with all systems. You need to know your source component's power output and your amps sensitivity/ gain (see your factory manuals). When you contact Ric, the owner of EVS, he will ask you about your system to ensure compatibility. They come with a money-back guarantee and a TRANSFERRABLE 3 year parts and labor warranty.

5 stars regardless of price category, and let this component re-define what "5 stars" really means.

Related components: Counterpoint SA-220 amp, Transparent MusicLink Plus IC's and MusicWave Plus cables, Rotel RCD-971 CD player, B&W DM602 monitors, and finally, a happy wife who thinks smaller components are better looking.