Aesthetic Calypso or CJ Et3 or Primaluna Dialogue 3


Which one of the tube preamps would you mate to a Pass Labs xa30.5 and why?

Used or New option for purchase

I looking for a detailed sound, detailed wide soundstage, and a sweet high end for a 80's rock junky

Any opinion appreciated


Jeff

Go packers
frozentundra

Showing 1 response by tls49

A general guideline when pairing a tube preamp with a SS power amp is that the amp's input impedance needs to be at least 10x of the preamp's output impedance. To be safer with the match, use 20x because at specific frequencies, the preamp's output impedance may be even higher than it's nominal value.

Pass Labs xa30.5 input impedance - 15k ohms unbalanced

Primaluna Dialogue 3 - 2500 ohms - Obviously, this preamp should be avoided.

Aesthetix Calypso - 1k ohms - Should be a match, but to be absolutely sure verify that it doesn't rise greatly at any frequency.

CJ Et3 - 100 ohms - Excellent match