2. amps-preamps
  3. 177930-818

A preamp recommendation

Hello everyone,  I'm looking for a "neutral" preamp that does not emphasize and de-emphasize any frequency range but has just a tiny bit of warmth.  Accurate harmonic information resulting in natural instrumental timbre, outstanding sound staging and imaging, solid extended bass without typical under controlled bass of typical tubes or over damped bass of transistors, crystalline smooth extended high frequency, excellent micro and macro dynamics, and clear transparent sound are all important to me.  I don't like hyper detailed sound typical of some transistor preamps or overly smooth warm sound of some tube preamps.  Currently, my favorite preamp is an autoformer passive preamp which gives many of the sound quality I like, but it lacks the drive and impact I get from active preamps. I have auditioned some top preamps from Audio Research, D'Agustino, Pass, among others, but was underwhelmed due to lack of transparency, inaccurate timbre, and/or significant deviation from overall neutrality.  I don't care if the preamp is solid state or tube, long as my requirements are met.  All of my amps have input impedance of 50KOhms or above. Which preamp would best fit my taste?  Any preamp new or used $15k or under would be on my list. Thank you.

dracule1

Showing 2 responses by soix

soix
8,819 posts
 

I think the Bryston BP26 might tick all your boxes and possibly save you $$$. It’s as close to a “straight wire with gain” product as I’ve heard. Or, put another way, it sounds like a passive preamp with balls. It’s like a clean, clear, open window on sound and just completely gets out of the way of the music.

On the tube side and given what you’re looking for the Atmasphere MP1, Backert Rhythm, and Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamps would all be high on my radar, but if you’re running fully balanced the MP1 deserves extra consideration. Best of luck.

soix
8,819 posts
 

I’ll look into Bryston BP26, but I’ve found past Bryston components on the sterile side, but it’s been decades.

Bryston’s “sound” has evolved quite a bit over the years, and while I agree their older amps were a bit thin and sterile sounding I wouldn’t characterize their later offerings that way. As far as their preamps, I’d not call them sterile but rather neutral and very transparent. If the BP26 is fed something warm it’ll simply pass that on and likewise with something sterile. While it won’t add anything of its own to the sonic signature, its complete lack of noise or any kind of veil whatsoever lends a sense of openness and clarity that results in excellent imaging and a vast and unfettered 3D soundstage if it’s in the recording. It was my understanding these were the characteristics that are important to you and hence my recommendation.

As far as the tube preamps, I’ve not heard any of them but from the reviews I’ve read they are among the least colored or veiled tube preamps available, which is again why I thought they’d be good recommendations and I’d encourage you to read their respective reviews if you haven’t already (BTW I’d also recommend the Atmasphere MP3 but since your budget allows for the MP1 I mentioned it instead and maybe @atmasphere can elaborate on their differences as well as the bass concerns you have from reading the MP1 reviews). Anyway, hope this helps and FWIW.

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