Melos SHA-Gold headphone amplifier   I could be wrong about the
target audience for the SHA-Gold, but I suspect that it's, uh,
me. That is to say, audiophiles with some budget limitations who
want an essentially uncompromised preamplifier that also offers
state-of-the-art headphone amplification. With tubes,
preferably. And as long as you're at it, maybe even remote
control.  The remote control is an outgrowth of the biggest
difference between the SHA-Gold and Melos' original SHA-1
(reviewed in Vol.15 No.10 and still in production, with only
minor changes): the "Photentiometer" volume control. Russ Novak
described the Photentiometer in great detail in his April review
of the Melos MA-333 Reference (Vol.19 No.4), so I'll just
summarize here.  Melos' Mark Porzilli maintains that the
performance of most state-of-the-art preamps is compromised by
"270 degrees of convenience"—their volume controls. He points
out that at 9:00, the average potentiometer has low resistance
and capacitance and, relatively speaking, hi