Cary SLP-05 does it all with panache for $8K. |
- Lloydelee21, hi thanks for the compliments. i'm very very farmilar with Moon & YBA "house"sound. they have huge & airy soundstage. YBA been more fluid and forgiving but still retain detail in a sense that you got to hear "harder", overall presentation is more airy & relax than Moon which has slight warmth in midrange and present music in your room with details more noticeable. Do you know anything about Densen amps? they too are very powerful, anyone know its reliability and sonic qualities?
-Wilsynet, will checkout Hypex NC400/ NC1200 later.
-4musica44107,Alan :i'm going to try Shindo pre, thanks and good to know many also appreciate soundtracks, sometimes those composers didn't get the credits. anyway,keeping my fingers cross.
-Rhljazz, Charles1dad: i have faith in both you had said and already spoke to local dealer for audition.
-Morganc, is the Allnic sound charactertics near VTL or BAT? you had arouse my interest in ALLnic again as i had dropped it. keeping my options open, thanks.
-Grannyring, TRI dude is totally new to me, could you further describe with comparisons ? thanks
- Teajay, i'll read your reviews and judge accordingly. thanks for mentioning CF-080.
-just look at Symphonic Line website, in German! unable to find dealer contacts. |
Phillip,
A friend of mine was curious to hear my SET amplifier in his system(Atma-Shere MA-1 mono blocks). I must tell you the Atmasphere MP-I with my 300b SET was remarkable! The sound was transparent,very open, quite dynamic and fast. Yet at the same time there was a completeness of full body,tone and very 3-dimensional palpability. It was simply put, a synergistic match and left a lasting impression.Yes there was plenty of air,ambience and sense of space.
I can say that the VAC Signature is equally excellent(this is a wonderful componemt) with this same SET amplifier(another friend has a VAC system with Phi 300.1 mono blocks). So I feel both of these are world class and would suit your high expectations.They perform to a high standard across the full musical spectrum.
Phillip, the Coincident linestage is most definitely world class but is a different approach(minimalist) It`s just a single gain stage with two DHT tubes and has no resistor or capacitor in the signal path(interstage transformer instead). The transparency.air and openess is a supreme strength,yet it has great tone,body and dynamics and large scale effortlessness(exceptional).
Like I said earlier, all three of these preamps are truly top tier in rank and any of them would make you happy IMO.By the way all three of these companies offer first rate customer service.
Regards, |
I'm a big fan of the Allnic L-3000. I know two that compared it to the most expensive $20,000 plus Pre- amps and chose the Allnic. |
The Tube Research Labs Dude is perfect for your needs. It is designed in such a way that the music always sounds powerful and at ease. By at ease I mean there is no sign of strain or compression. Music flows in a natural and dynamic manner.
The Dude has made every other pre I have listened to or owned sound rather puny and kind of small - like an electronic toy if you will. Yes, exaggerated statement to help directionally.
The newest Dudes cost $6,000 new and come with Duelund CAST coupling caps and the best build quality I have seen in the Dudes.
Read my online review for more info and to see the other preamps I have compared it to.
Have fun! |
The best Shindo unit you can get for $18K, or perhaps "just" the Shindo Masseto and either the T1 or T2 SUT, depending upon your cartridge, and assuming you listen to vinyl. My Masseto/T2/EMT JSD-5 combination makes for a fantastic analog front end; the musical result is simply stunning! |
The VAC Signature w/o phono is 15K. The VAC is not rolled at the frequency extremes. It will give you an optimal foundation for a full orchestra. There is a lot of flexibility between rca and balanced input/ouputs so system configuration is simplified.
The feel of the controls, beauty of finish, and quality of materials is something to behold. It is the main device you must interact with. The volume control is not stepped so very fine level adjustments are possible which for me is critical.
Kevin and Brent at VAC are fine gentlemen to assist in your enjoyment their quality made products. |
hi Charles1dad,
thanks for sincere recommendations. i totally agree with you. what i hope is to narrow down a possible list(3 to 5?) without wasting dealer time and inconvenience for preamp that doesn't fit my music genre,eg: ARC and Callisto is OUT(they are magic for vocal) and then base on some critical variables e.g. airyness/separation, clean & clear notes,no veil effect, very detail(able to hear every instruments), not thin nor lean sounding, quietness, sufficient speed. hope to make comparision between preamps base on above criteria,if anyone had done any back to back comparsion.Then i'll try to visit the few shortlisted names. Can i ask between your Coincident Statement and MP1 mk3, which has more high end extension & airyness? thanks -phil |
I have heard good things about both MOON W-8 & YBA Passion. Are you able to try your Moon CDPlayer (which apparently is seriously good stuff! Congrats!)...with the Moon or YBA Passion amp...and THEN go back and put in some of the preamps you were considering? I think that is honestly the best way to do this. A bit of a pain...but mixing and matching on paper is seriously hard unless you really, really know this equipment. Good luck...again, you have some great equipment, and some great choices. Enjoy! |
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Phillip,
You`ll get many suggestions as there`re a number of worthy contenders. The problem is(I`m sure you reconize this) there`re too many variables involved for someone to really guide you to just one choice.It`s such a personal decision,given your system and even more so, your ears and taste. Most of the preamps listed above are excellent and will compliment most systems.
I know the Atmasphere pretty well and the VAC Signature MK II very well. These two along with my Coincident Statement Linestage I could without reservation recommend with much confidence and enthusiasm.All three can and will provide top tier sound quality in a well thought out system.
To select one and say it is universally the 'best' is`nt possible,they all would get the job done at a very high level if natural sound, honesty and realism is the objective.
Best of luck in your search.I`m certain with some patience you`ll find what you seek. |
Drrsutliff, thanks for your 12 letterings. what good is VAC signature compared to Atmasphere MP1 mk3? regards. |
hi all, thanks for sharing. i'd try to comment one at a time.
-Response34,
i'll PM you into your audiogon inbox later for privracy.
-Lloydelee21 & Zd542,
points taken. In fact,i sold off pre/power for this upgrade. i own Simaudio 750D cdp & Martin logan Spire. please comment whether these 2 components are suitable for my genre of music. So far the 750D has detail & huge slightly laidback soundstage which i feel this would lay down the basic "groundwork" for my music preference. My buying strategy would be focusing on Preamp first(getting the tonality i desire) as it widely known as heart of a system, then proceed to get a more or less neutral amp because the market seems having more neutral sounding amp than preamp IMHO. Otherwise i would be caught trying to balance between a CDP and Amp. There are other qualities that i look in a preamp so i need to get as much things right as possibles or at least don't get preamp which include something which i dislike and then later buy the amp to correct the fault upstream. Currently there are 2 contenders in AMP category : MOON W-8 & YBA Passion, both can double power as impedence half. i think its shows they are powerful.
i heard Ayre KX-R before but it has qualities that i dislike so it fell through, i would feel restricted trying to buy a amp correcting upstream faults instead of buying an amp for bigger enjoyment.
-Arh,Teajay,Stereo5,Wilsynet:
hi, can you briefly describe what qualities they excel in comparison with other tube pre? any slightest comment is appreciated.
-Tom_hankins : i dislike people whom just drop a brand model without any reason or comparsion and sign off. i'm not convince, perhaps you not aware there are other pre that performs better where the BAT REX suffers? Anyway thanks for your six letters recommendation.
has anyone thought of VTL, CAT legend & Joule electra? are they more resolve & detail as in you can hear more sound in a song than before? thanks everyone, -phil |
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Two things:
Atma-sphere MP-1 with capacitor and power supply upgrades.
Hypex NC400 or NC1200 based monoblocks.
Send me a note if you want more info on the NC400s. |
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I would look at the Symphonic Line tube preamp. Extremely musical, seems made for Classical music with its wide and deep soundstage. It is the only preamp I have heard that accurately reproduces piano with none of the ringing or other nasties. |
Lloydelee21 brings up a very good point. You tried some of the best preamps on the market. Its possible that you have a weak spot somewhere else in your system. That said, I would recommend you listen to preamps from BAT and Ayre. (I know Ayre only makes solid state products, but I still recommend it.) |
Hi Philip,
In addition to preamps...i have found extreme separation, detail, and the ability to handle the enormous complexity and scale of an orchestra playing full tilt...comes as much from the amp and the source.
The source is kinda obvious, but i will say a lot of amps get muddled/confused/tired trying to push the power thru of an orchestra, maintain the sometime immense dynamic range...keeping the super pianissimos while also having kettle drum in the background...and then not getting brittle with the strings...and then keeping each area separate. It takes a lot of power, capacity, speed, etc from the amp. I tend to find great preamps really get outta the way of the source...transfer the signal clean thru...and the amp needs to be able to push the speaker effortlessly. My own two cents. |
Hi Phil
I will start off by saying I am a dealer as well as a tube preamplifier manufacturer and will admit that I am a but biased when it comes to preamps.
My first question will be, "where are you located?"
The product we manufacture is the Purity Audio Design line of tube preamps. I wont get too involved here as it is against the rules and only posting due to you mentioning dealers in your post.
I would be more than happy to discuss this line (the new Series 2) with you further should you devise to add it to your list. |
I have a Shindo Auriges preamp which is $5000. I listen to mainly classical and movie soundtracks and the sound is excellant. Shindo also has more expensive preamps which should do the job for you. Tone imnports can give you more info
Alan |
Hi Philipwn,
I would highly recommend that you audition the Concert Fidelity CF-080 linestage. Take a look at my review of it here on the GON for details on its performance. It was also just reviewed by Dick Osher and you will find other reviews on different websites that all rave about its' performance. |
