The MET1 is a 6-channel, vacuum-tube analog preamplifier intended for use with a disc player with built-in digital decoding. The preamp allows you to take full advantage of the high resolution SACD and DVDA formats. Unlike surround-sound processors, says Conrad Johnson, the MET1 is an audiophile quality preamplifier capable of passing along this analog signal with no redundant digital conversions, no additional digital processing, and no substandard analog circuits. The MET-1 is capable of high-end two channel performance as well as state of the art multi-channel playback, offering two sets of 6-channel inputs and three pairs of stereo inputs. With stereo inputs, an Ambience Retrieval Mode (ARM) can be enabled to extract six channels of information from the stereo sourcedings, as well as early quadrophonic recordings.