Great mechanicals--switches and all that.

Sonically weak.

I'll go with some of the other remarks that this unit sounds dry and restrained. How can that be? Square waves look good through it yet the sound is affected? My previous Hafler and Dynaco units both sounded better, thought they didn't look as nice.

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See above.

warm, intimate sound phono section control flexibilty excellent construction spartan look

no longer made spartan look

This is one of the most musical preamps available for under $3000. It has been the control center of my music system for over twenty years, and it still retains the focused soundstage and warm intimate sound that it had from the first day I listened to it. I like the action of the volume control, the laser-trimmed resistors maintain the proper left-right balance throughout the entire volume range, right down to the lowest volume. The first 180 degrees of the volume control are a slow ramp-up of the volume, very suitable for headphone listening via the much better than norm phones output. A previous reviewer misread this feature of the volume control, citing the need to turn the control up too high in order to get the appropriate volume. Even at one o''clock, there is plenty of room to go in the range of the volume control. Unlike Spinal Tap, there is no need to go up to "11" on this volume control. The switching flexibility is absolutely amazing, with all tape and external processor inputs and outputs fully buffered. The tone controls have a subtlety that is most welcome in this day of +/- 12dB adjustments. Two phono inputs! One for my 78rpm turntable, and one for my regular vinyl. Life is good. And this preamp is excellent.

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Dynaco Mark Levinson Krell

See everything below

None

A superb pre-amp. Simply stunning performance. I solve the power switch problem by simply leaving the unit on: sound best this way, anyway. I got my copy from Saturday Audio Exchange for $169 (!!!).

Very clean, neutral, and balanced. Many useful features. Useful and useable tone controls that enhance rather than detract

Relay contacts get dirty, and some transistor hiss becomes audible as the preamp ages.

To be brief, This preamp was made in 1979. I point this out because this stupid revue form required me to pick a model year date that was in the last 5 years. It is a very refined design. Although a complete tube-head, I still use this entirely transisitorized piece of equipment as my main preamplifier. It has a neutral, un-colored quality to the sound that is hard to find in any preamp, much less an inexspensive solid state design. The tone controls are very well designed and are actually useable. One can add a little bass, or roll a little treble, and unlike virtually every other preamp I've tried, it doesn't hurt the overall tone quality. Users of planar speakers (especially smaller Magnepans) will find that one of the bass boost contours matches the rolled-off bass of the planar designs so well that boosting the bass around 6 db causes a remarkably flat response from a well set up planar speaker system.

The knobs and switches are all very high quality. Someone told me that they are aircraft spec switches, and I believe it from the look and feel of them. The volume knob uses a stepped attenuator with precision resistors that track very accurately. There's no shortage of inputs and outputs either. I have two tuners, a CD player a tape deck, a DAT and a phono, and I still have open inputs!

The phono stage is quite good indeed. One could do better if one were to get a phono stage specifically designed for a cartrige type, but it is hard to imagaine another phono preamp that sounds so good in so many different configurations. I like to homebrew my components, and I've made a handful of really good designs, but I have yet to make a phono stage that can even touch the Apt/Holman.

Some drawbacks are rather minor. For one, the muting relay does begin to act up after a while, and can either be cleaned, bypassed or replaced. A bit more annoying is the fact that there are 20 year old semiconductors in there and they start to get hissy after all these years. Even so, the sound quality of the preamp is superb, and doesn't at all sound "solid state". Leave the thing on all the time, and the hiss won't get as serious as quickly. At least, that's been my observation.

I reccommend against changing the semiconcuctors unless totally necessary, however. If you have the original manual, you will notice the test results for your particular unit. The figures are amazing, not because of how low they are, but rather the methodology used to obtain them. They are perhaps the most demanding criteria for measuring distortion I have ever seen used. If you read Tom Holman's design philosophy outlined in the manual, you will see that the design has been totally tweaked around the components used, and I think that any modification that does not take this into account is bound to hurt rather than help. However, replacing a few ceramic disc caps with film, and tightening tolerances on resistors is not a terrible idea. Ceramic disc capacitors are very non-linear, and pretty much stink for audio use. However, I haven't studied the circuit carefully enough to notice wheather or not the non-linearity has been compensated for in some other way that would make a more linear capacitor produce a poorer sound. I'd leave the transistors alone unless I had a ton more test equipment and about 20 years more knowledge than I currently have. The design is sound, so leave it alone, or build a new preamp based on the Apt/Holman design.

All in all, I'd say it's a steal for $175 or under. As long as it works (very likely) you'll be pleased, and you certainly won't find a preamp of that quality for anywhere near that price. A definate grab!

If you do get one, read the ENTIRE manual. It is a very fascinating and enlightening read.

In its stock form, the apt pre is decent sounding. You will have to spend quite a bit more to better. The phono stage is one of the best available, and is extremel flexible for either moving coil or moving magnet cartridges. There are plenty of inputs, including two tape recorder loops, and an external processor loop, which can be used as a third tape loop.

Parts quality has improved over the years, since Tom Holman first designed this piece. Simple replacement of the 21 .01uf ceramic caps with film caps, and replacing the carbon shunt resistors with 1% metal film pieces, will allow this piece to compete with pre amps in the 1500.00 range and above.

Bang for the buck, this unit is a steal. It combines ultra reliability, with good sonics, in a very user friendly package.

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The matching power amp is worth looking into as well.

Phone section, stereo "mode" control, useful bass and treble controls, overall quality.

Muting switch. Because of its age, the AC outlets in the back are not polarized.

This unit was made in 1979.

I have four quality preamps: a Carver C-11, SAE 2100L, a Hafler DH101, and the Apt. The Apt is the only one in use.

The stereo "mode" control allows one to fade from mono through stereo, to a complete left minus right signal. It is one of the most useful features I've seen on any preamp. The only other preamp that I know of with such a feature is the Carver C-16.

The Apt allows the channels in the phono section to be balanced, as does the SAE. One phono section allows for adjustment of resistance and capacitance, like the Carver C-11, but with more flexibility.

There is but one glitch, and it appears that is not uncommon with this preamp: the muting switch. When it first started to act up, the left channel would go silent. Tapping the top of the preamp would bring it back. I traced the problem to the muting switch. It has contact points similar to those in an automobile distributor, which apparently, over the years had gotten dirty or corroded. Removing it to clean or replace looked like a major problem, so I simply by-passed it with a couple of short lengths of wire. It works fine now, but the automatic muting at turn-on does not function, nor does the muting button do anything.

I only wish mine had a moving-coil section.

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Hafler, SAE, Carver preamps.

I have use this preamp for over ten years, and I bought it used. Never had a problem and when I added a Classe amp and Dalquist speakers and polk sub I can get a completely satisfing sound. I was thinkind that it was time to upgrade but after reading the other reviews, WHY.

Happy I bought this one.

I used and enjoyed the Apt Holman preamplifier along with the Apt 1 power amplifier since they were first made in 1979. Together, the units are quite musical and enormously pleasant to listen to. The phono section of the preamp deserves its reputation. Truth be know, however, technology has progressed and a number of today's entry-level high end systems will surpass the Apt equipment. As my equipment aged, the preamp developed a pronounced hiss, which at least one other reviewer has noted, and both pieces required servicing around the time they turned 20. I recently (and not without some misgivings) replaced my Apt gear with Meridian's integrated amp. While the Apt phono section stacks up well against the Meridian, the Meridian is, to my ears, clearly superior in a side-by-side comparison. Still, for the money, a well-maintained Holman preamp is difficult to beat.

Phono section, R+L to R-L control, Lots of switching

Ugly faceplate, needs to be 19" rack width (a 19" faceplate was available)

There's not a whole lot I can add to the previous reviews of this wonderful little pre-amp. I picked it up about 5 years ago as a curiosity at a used hi-fi store. The original manual and marketing literature were laying on top of it. I glanced through these and thought it sounded like an interesting little toy. It was (and still is) in mint condition and the guy sold it to me for $100. I took it home and put it up on the test bench only to discover that its frequecy response had deteriorated from 20kHz down to 18 kHz. I cleaned all of the switches and pots, and replaced all of the caps. It was now ready for a listen! After using it for about a month I parted with my other pre-amps because I knew I would never need them again.

This is the only pre-amp you will ever need.

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McIntosh, Halfler, B&K, Audio Research, Krell

Switching flexibility,lots of buttons and knobs to play with

Thick undetailed sound. poor soundstage, mid 70s mid-fi sound

I was initially disappointed when I got this preamp. I kept waiting for it to break in and warm up, but it never sounded better. I regretted selling my Van Alstine preamp which was far more detailed, transparents and natural sounding.
I am grateful to this preamp in that its poor sound compelled me to start modifying audio equipment. This preamp is a good unit to start on because it has big heavy circuit traces.
I am an electronic technician and I have seen Apts cross my bench. They invariably get the same problem. The Electrolytic signal-coupling capacitors used between the phono and line stages fail. It would be very wise to replace all of the mediocre grade electrolytics in the Apt with Panasonic HF electrolytics from Digi-key.com. Bypass every one of them with a 0.01uf Panasonic P series polypropylene cap from Digi-key as well. You will notice a distinct improvement in openness and detail.
The Apt will sound better if many of its electrolytic coupling caps are replaced with 10uf mylar caps, but space is very constrained within the preamp.
Permanently, bypassing the tone section will also improve the sound, but many people buy the unit for its tone features. If you are patient, replacing the steel ribbon cable that connects the two boards with quality stranded copper wire does improve the sound and retains the tone section.
This unit is good as a control center for a conplex system but it is in no way a state-of-the-art stereo preamplifier.

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Van Alstine Pat5, Cary SLP72, Sunfire Classic Tube