Yes, the Embla Pre amp section is much more transparent than my ARC ref 3 pre-amp when connected to my Jeff Roland power amp in my system ,清甜 and 轻松 is a strong Bladelius characteristic , this characteristic is even more obvious when connect it direct to power amp.... only thing is ARC "might" better is it have more organic mid and stronger bass(I feel it is coloration compare to directly connect the CD player to power amp) that Asian or US audiophile more get used to IMHO.