Currently listening to the MauroMyref 1.2 populated by LinuxGuru with some Premium parts.
Earlier I had a Chini clone of the Grounded Grid preamp driving a NAD 325 - which I found was a better alternative to the NAD preamp section. Although I was instantly able to recall (on first power up) that the clone did not have the lifting veil effect, sheer immediacy and excitement and transparency of the Original GG it was still better than the NAD pre (thanks to George for letting me audition it).
Then I put in a MyRef 1.3 premium parts prototype with a 100VA EI Core (experimental build provided by LinuxGuru) after the preamp and it sounded better than the NAD 325 power section to a degree. So I promptly put the NAD in the cupboard.
Then I heard the RedWine Audio Signature 3.2 Integrated for a week and loved it. After that I could not listen to my preamp (the main culprit) + MyRef for even an hour. So I ripped out the wiring of the 1.3 kit to put the volume pot (AnalogMetric stepped attenuator with Vishay Dale resistors) of the preamp and my new r-core Trafo into it along with a great little local made shielded wire I found extremely quiet and suitable suitable for a preamps internal wiring .
The suddenly I got infected by the lazybones virus and was "bedridden" for more than a month. It was a particularly serious case where my eyeballs would roll towards the parts and pieces of the Myref lying about scattered in my living room, and my tongue would drool uncontrollably, but I could not even lift a finger to put it back together. I had no system for more than a month and life was looking bleak...
Thankfully my new AD700 headphones saved me from becoming a complete mental wreck.
Thankfully LinuxGuru came to my rescue last weekend and on Sunday we had a marathon 7 hour session reassembling it back before we heard the first sounds. We started at 5pm thinking it would only take 2 hours and were able to switch it on only by 11:45pm!! At first power up both of us looked at each other crestfallen - we put our ears millimeters away from the speaker and heard absolutely nothing!! "Somethings wrong..." I commented dejected. Then the CD started rolling and the sounds came!! Oh man!! It is dead silent!! Fooled us completely!!
Overall SQ is very good, maybe the bass lacks some definition and punch, on some tracks even bass sounds good, on others I have doubts. The confusion is also because my fullrangers play the frequency extremes at lower volumes than a regular 2 or 3 way speaker (thats typical fullrange for you - plays it all below 80hz and above 15khz but it may be 1 or 2db below midrange frequencies to make things less enjoyable at the extremes).
Linuxguru thinks the 12000muF caps on the 1.3 kit may provide better bass (these are less than 10000muF I think). Will know the following Sunday when we plug in the 1.3 premium. This time it should be a 15 minute job. The SQ is clean with each instrument surrounded by black space around it. I hear things I never heard with my preamp in place before. The preamp is now history. It has served its purpose. Maybe I will cannibalize some parts from it and junk the PCBs or I will sell it of dirt cheap on ebay.
The R-Core Trafo is 25-0, 25-0 5A estimated @250VA. And no - although overrated, its not like putting a Formula-1 engine in a Maruti 800. As I discovered, simply putting an oversized trafo will not make your amp growl and bring hyper dynamics and slam into the picture. The source has to be capable.
The setup is right now very simple - Marantz CD6002 CDP-->Nordost BlueHeavens -->GC AMP with Volume pot --> DAC OFC speaker cable plugged in directly without terminals --> Fostex 166E FR Speakers without crossover. Can it get simpler than that? Yep, thats another 30+k saved on a preamp!!
I have no more the memory of the Redwine signature sound, so I cannot compare. But I can confidently assert that spending 50k on a budget mid-fi amp is pointless when one can get such great SQ with DIY and less than 15K with 5k for chassis and 2.5k for the Trafo. Compelling alternative if you have speakers that will work well with 35 watts - Newcomers to the scene will do wisely to purchase only these kind of speakers so they can consider this very cost-effective option. Some of the compelling qualities of the Redwine are certainly there - dead quiet, texture and soundstage (to a degree if not in the same league and I cant remember).
See every *good* amp will provide something all other amps provide to varying degrees. Its what clicks for you at a price point that matters. No point claiming that all other HiFi gear has no reason to exist at its market price when a cheap DIY can give (bits of ) the same. I can only summarize it as a very compelling alternative - stock gear to own before evaluating and spending big bucks on another market product that may deliver possibly more. This GainCLone may liberate you from compulsive spending on upgrades. Chances are strong you will stick to it for good. Right now I am ready to spend $$$ on a chassis and maybe even a DACT volume pot - provided the 1.3 delivers on the bass punch. Then I am also free to start considering spending $$$ on a DIY Subwoofer to match the Fostex drivers in speed as well as super tweeters later this year. Things on the back of my mind since more than a year but postponed and pending that crucial event where I got the basics of the most important gear right.
YMMV if you use a cheap potentiometer and an EI Core. The R-Core is highly recommended.
C.h.e.e.r.s
) But its useful for A/B comparison and I don't find that missing bass slam in the headphones either. So maybe its a wrong selection of tracks. Then the AD700 HP is known for weak bass anyways so the test may be more like comparing two left feet (which one is better?). 
