I've heard all the units you mention except the Rowland. I elected to carry the Thor, and found an unexpected benefit - the Thor pre-amp is so three-dimensional that it is now much easier for me to quickly position speakers properly. What used to take a couple of days with a respectable $8.5k solid state preamp now takes maybe twenty minutes. I have had several customers tell me that my demo system has the best nuance, timbre, and bass pitch definition they have heard, perhaps largely attributable to the speakers (Sound Labs) but obviously the Thor isn't mucking things up! If you don't have a local dealer, I could probably arrange an in-home audition for you. But if you do have a dealer already, by all means support him! By the way, the Pass Aleph series are superb little amplifiers, among the few solid state units worthy of the Thor. I spent several very enjoyable hours listening to the Thor and an Aleph together once, so I can vouch that the combination is a good one.
Best Pre-amp under 7k
I am looking for a new preamp to fit my system: Theta miles CD, Pass Aleph 3, Proac 2.5, basis 1400 with graham 2.0 and grado reference. I have an audio research PH3SE as my phono stage so I dont need one. Have been looking at Rowland Synergy, Levinson 380S, Hovland, Thor and Audio Research LS25. I enjoy the liquid sound of tubes but highly regard the detail and bass slam from solid state (i.e. Levinson gear). What is the best preamp for my sytem to provide me with detail, superb imaging, tight bass, and a smooth sound? If I have to choose between detail/superb imaging and liquid sound, I would go with the detail/imaging. Thanks for any help in this mind-bending saga!!
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- 21 posts total
- 21 posts total