After just a few pieces of music, I realized that I was dealing with a very balanced, harmonious and neutral sounding preamplifier. The KECES S4 had no inherent sound signature whatsoever. Somehow this preamplifier was tonally invisible, in the best sense without a specific signature, extremely permeable to everything on the record and thus very close to the ideal of the amplifying piece of wire. I identified no interference artefacts, perceived an extremely low noise floor level and a black background against which the musical performance contrasted perfectly.

The AC/DC track "Hells Bells" (Back in Black, Atlantic Records, 1980) immediately reveals any weakness in the low frequency range, which is why I always like to listen to it for testing purposes. Both via MM and MC, the massive "hell's bells" at the beginning of the intro clattered in a really fat, black and fundamental manner, which only very high-quality phono preamps can come up with in this form. Guitar riffs, drums and Brian Johnson's vocals were always crystal clear and cleanly separated from each other, never smudging tones or impulses or even creating a "tonal swamp". Hence the KECES S4 always maintained control and overview of the sound. If I wanted to, I could follow even the smallest, most subtle instrumental arborizations and noises. In general, the entire sonic image seemed to me to be slightly characterized by a silvery timbre, which seemed to emphasize the high differentiation capability of the S4.

AC/DC’s rock ballad "Ride on" (Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Atlantic Records, 1976) then raised goosebumps again. The (artificial) extraordinarily generous recording image gave every instrument enough room to breathe and, above all, conveyed the characteristic lightness in Bon Scott's voice with natural authenticity. Scott's powerful vocals were loaded with a lot of energy, this being for me a further proof of the spotlessly clean electrical and circuitry design of the S4, especially with regard to the phono section. Basically, the soundstage happened to be more wide than deep.

Somewhat lighter fare was provided by a number of iconic 12-inchers performed by electro-pop celebs Depeche Mode with tracks such as "Precious" (Mute Records, 2005) or "Shake the Disease" (Mute Records, 1985). The stable low-frequency foundation provided a massive, powerful bass that was nevertheless agile and never puffy, thereby ensuring quite a high enjoyment factor. Things continued a little more subtly with the Cranberries. Dolores O'Riordan performed "Ode to my Family" (No Need to Argue, Island Records, 1994) and "Linger" (12", Island Records, 1993) and it quickly became clear that the high frequency spectrum and the mid-range, which is so important for rendering voices, were in no way inferior to the lowest octaves. Only really good (phono) preamplifiers can achieve the finest high-frequency resolution without any hint of harshness and with cleanly articulated sibilants.