Backert Labs has seemingly come out of nowhere. Their first review appeared in 2015 and Enjoy the Music.com reviewed the 1.3 version of the Rhumba Extreme in 2019. This micro-manufacturer specializes in tube-powered preamplifiers, with a tube phono stage being a logical extension of their focus. All of their manufacturing and assembly is done in the USA. I had heard the buzz on the brand only one other time before my audio buddy, Tom, informed me that he had ordered a Rhumba 1.2 on US Audiomart that had been upgraded to a 1.3. Listening to his familiar system, I noticed an impressive improvement. When the 1.4 series was announced I contacted Andy Tebbe, the President and frontman of the company, and was promised a premiere review when the design was finalized.