[78-L] Thinking of replacing my Owl 1

[Jeffrey Lichtman]

For years I have been using an Owl 1 pre-amp for playing 78s. It has 
starting giving me trouble in the past few months, so I'm thinking of 
replacing it. Unfortunately, most pre-amps that have comparable 
functions are very expensive. What I need are:

    - selectable equalization curves (preferably with turnover and 
rolloff separately selectable)
    - channel selection: left, right, left + right, left - right (for 
vertical recordings)

I don't generally use the Owl's hiss and rumble filters - I prefer to 
do this filtering after recording. It would be nice to have a stereo 
output mode to allow the selection of the quieter channel 
dynamically, but I've been doing without this for so long that I 
don't see it as a necessity.

The company that made the Owl 1 is out of business, so I can't send 
it in for repair. It's possible that I can repair it myself - the 
problem is that one channel drops out, and flicking the power switch 
off and on will bring it back for a while. I suspect the problem is 
the power switch itself.

If I can't repair the Owl I will have to replace it. I found a 
company in New Mexico that makes a comparable unit called the TDL 
Technology Model 4010. They have a web site with the unit described here:

http://www.tdl-tech.com/data4010.htm

The price is right at $487, but it bothers me that they don't publish 
technical specs that I can find: things like S/N ratio, distortion, etc.

Does anyone here have experience with this pre-amp? Can anyone 
suggest a different one?

Thanks.


                        -        Jeff Lichtman
                                 swazoo at rcn.com
                                 Check out Swazoo Koolak's Web Jukebox at
                                 http://swazoo.com/