I've followed Oyster's footstep which in fact is a backward one when technology is concern - going back to LP; I've been mobilising an inexpensive integrated amp as the phono stage. I would have upgraded long to a decent dedicated one if the economy hasn't been that bad. It's true, for a guy who's fed on bank overdraft, and job security keeps haunting these days, upgrade would be too much a plunge and become the last thing on my list though it is still one of the first things on my mind.

Still, to get the last bit of performance out of this under-nutritioned phono stage, I've tweaked it heavily with all possible means. Amber is sprinkled all over the chasis. Of course it helps a lot but it still couldn't turn a skinny boy macho overnight.

Joe came one fine day and after listening for a short while, he frowned, "Ben, you could do miles better!" Good point, didn't strike me though. As good as telling Joe "You could have looked a lot better putting off 40lb." Bet both of us wish we could achieve that with only a breeze.

Another few days he gave me a call. He told me he's just passed Oyster an object I find it hard to comprehend over phone "Sorry, Joe, p..a...r... what??" "P.a.v.a.n.e". He said. Gee, sounded like some European branded fashion fetching exorbitant price. He went on to tell me it's an amber plus crystal tweak and ask me to give it a try.

I thought to myself my 'phono stage' was already hiding somewhere inside an amber forest. Would that help? Anyway, Oyster paid me a visit after a few days and on the same day Joe sent me the Pavane. Oyster told me he tried the Pavane and it was oh so good. After we listened to a few LP's, I cleared the amber forest and let just the Pavane rest on top of the 'phono stage'. We couldn't believe our ears... it's like I've just upgraded the phono stage. Another few LP's were played Oyster made a very comforting remark to dim off my bright burning desire for a phono stage upgrade "Ben, it'll cost you a fortune for an upgrade that can beat what you have now". I concurred without second thought.

I would love to describe all the improvements with audiophiles' jargon but that'll be no more that repeating what others, eg. Yilun, Oyster, Martin, Sangram, etc have said. All I can say is:

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