As the title says, I am pondering my best options for purchasing a tube based preamp for $2k or under. Must have a remote!
Your opinions, thoughts, and expertise would be greatly appreciated. If I was spending more, I would know most of the best choices, but I'm on unfamiliar ground at this price limit. But sometimes, you can only do what you can do.
Audio Research SP-9 $1250 on eBay. Seller notes recent service and excellent overall condition, manual and spare tubes. This is a screaming deal from a recognized high end brand. I would add that the adjustable gain allows proper gainstaging and optimized signal/noise ratio that is simply unachievable with other preamps lacking that ability. That translates to greater transparency, definition, detail, and soundstaging, all of which require a low noise floor.
If i wasn't preamp heavy right now I'd buy this myself.
Dodd Battery Powered Preamp. About 1 a year comes up for sale and sells fast. Widely regarded as one of, if not the quietest preamp ever made. Super simple signal path. End game for me...and apparently for many that hear it.
@mazianWhat's the sound signature of the Aesthetix Calypso, compared to VTL ? I would love to upgrade my VTL 2.5 to a VTL 5.5(balanced ins/Outs) I've heard it's a big jump. seems to be double the price of a used VTL 2.5.
BTW, I'm different than most, I think the communication with VTL is very good. Lots of haters for VTL service.
If you lived in Australia I could sell you a 110v Aesthetix Calypso for just under US$2000 as I have upgraded to a VTL 5.5. The VTL is an upgrade but not by a lot.
My best advice is the SP-14 from Tube4Hifi, based on 6SN7 octal tubes, the very preamp that Don Sachs developed to a greater degree. Check out their website. I just got a Don Sachs 2 preamp and it was a bargain at $2200, a legacy unit for sure. Lots of great suggestions above, too.
Depends on the rest of your system. I tend to go with the Hippocratic oath wrt audio: First, Do No Harm.
By harm I mean overprocessing the signal. So if you agree with that and have a simple signal path with minimal processing, then get a point to point pre by decware, Apollo, Aric or similar. Apollo is an undiscovered gem and is still more affordable.
If you don't agree with my methodology, than that is why I kept it short, so you wouldn't waste too much time reading it.
@nightfall And yes, the quad of 6SN7's that the Cary SLP-98 uses concerns me a bit because of what a costs for a nice quad of those NOS tubes.
I have a set of very nice 4+2 [quad plus two spares] of 1960s Sylvania 6SN7GT Black Plates stored away - no longer in use. No need. They were originally NOS, now low use vintage. Guess what, my current re-issues from TJ Full Music and PSVANE Art Series MKII beat them sonically to my preference. The vintage have detail just not the smoothness and texture I hear from tubes I can buy new now. Imo, the older vintage tubes are old and getting to be long in the tooth now. They are my backups.The question on the new tubes is how long they'll last. So far so good on mine.
I have notes on what Dan used in the Modwrights Preamps shipped out stock 5-7 years ago. I use the same OEM tubes rebranded from same provider, originally.
You can expand your buying power/choices to full featured vintage equipment without remote control:
In order to get remote control for any vintage equipment, simply add a Chase Remote Line Controller, RLC-1. That let’s me use my beloved McIntosh MX110z tube tuner/preamp.
You get very precise 1 db steps of remote: volume, balance, mute, treble, bass, and 1 switched power outlet.
Other remote volume devices exist, but this is the only one I know of with remote balance. Once you have it, you won’t want to ever live without remote balance again.
IMHO, the biggest bargain in high-end audio is a refurbed Audible Illusions M3A. Art works on these himself, replaces everything that is needed for it to look, test and sound as new. Comes with a warranty and a new set of tubes. Sorry, no remote though.
@nightfall and others -- sorry FOUR 6SN7 tubes rather than SIX. My bad.
I still prefer having a preamp with one. Why? Cost: they range in price but maybe $30 bucks and up (times four). I'd rather spend money on having a variety of 6SN7 tubes to try different sounds with. I don't want to buy multiple quads. IMHO, having amps with that many tubes is what would push me toward a solid state preamp.
Sure thing about the QS. I upgraded the caps in my preamp and still didn’t wind up keeping it.
Oh, and hilde45. Thanks VERY much for your perspective on that Quicksilver preamp. That sound signature is not what I'm seeking. That said, Mike isa great guy and has made some extremely nice power amps in his time.
To answer your questions, as noted in the title of this discussion, my max budget is $2k,
Yes, a remote is critical.
As for the Dehavilland pre's, I have not found anyone who has, has every heard of, or has any idea of how a remote could be added.
I only sold the Modwright due to a forced downsizing because of circumstances quite a few years back. It was an excellent unit. There was a specific combination of tubes that Dan told me took it to another level. I don't recall what those were. I am a big Modwright fan,and have spent a bit of time with Dan, phone and at shows.
And yes, the quad of 6SN7's that the Cary SLP-98 uses concerns me a bit because of what a costs for a nice quad of those NOS tubes.
@hilde45 Second, the Cary preamp has SIX 6SN7 tubes. That’s a lot of tubes. The Dehavilland has one.
Slight correction, fyi. Requires FOUR (4), not SIX. The other smaller 12xx7 are for phono section, if you choose to have phono. Yep, it does require a quad of 6SN7s though. Find your best quad, and order a backup quad for spares if you like them.
Tried several, still using either PSVANE or TJ Full Music in my 98 now. They are as good or better than any of my vintage 6SN7 black plates now stored away.
Honestly, the DeHavilland UltraVerve III is at the top of my wish list. However, as you know, these only rarely pop up for sale, and the vast majority seem to be units without remote control.
I'd like to push back very politely about this a little (totally friendly-like!).
First, I set an alert for the DeHavilland in USAM. I was surprised they came up somewhat regularly. To test my claim, click HERE (HiFi Shark) and search Used/Expired and look at the dates.
As for remote control -- someone might be able to add one.
Second, the Cary preamp has SIX 6SN7 tubes. That's a lot of tubes. The Dehavilland has one.
Third, I had the Quicksilver Preamp. It comes up used often. It is quiet and sounds good but a bit dry, clinical. No tube changes made that better. I think the 6SN7 is a better preamp tube.
If your budget is as high as $3k I’d look for a Conrad Johnson ET3. Only takes one tube so you can roll til your hearts content to get the exact flavor you’re looking for.
@nightfallThanks also to those who have recommended Cary SLP-98’s, another unit I was considering, though they seem to be selling a bit over my $3k limit. And the Modwright LS100 is also a great recommendation you provided. I once owned one, and would have no trouble buying another one.
I wonder what you decided about moving beyond the MW LS100 and why - if you don’t mind the ak? I’m a happy Cary SLP-98 long term owner, and also enjoy following Dan’s designs for MW too. Good stuff. Like hearing from MW owners.
Looking back some I see Dan used/shipped some of the exact same OEM 6SN7 tubes I've used in my own 98 preamp. Can share my own preamp is hyper-sensitive to the different 6sN7s I’ve tried in it. Tried more than a few. Wondering why you moved on and what tubes you tried in our LS100 if you don’t mind sharing more as you seek another preamp.
Thanks also to those who have recommended Cary SLP-98's, another unit I was considering, though they seem to be selling a bit over my $3k limit. And the Modwright LS100 is also a great recommendation you provided. I once owned one, and would have no trouble buying another one.
hilde45, thanks for that recommendation. Honestly, the DeHavilland UltraVerve III is at the top of my wish list. However, as you know, these only rarely pop up for sale, and the vast majority seem to be units without remote control. :(
Aric is a great guy, and makes wonderful stuff. I own one of his 300B power amps. But the preamp you recommended, while I am sure is outstanding, is $4200.00 new, and you could go years without finding one used.
I would second (from reading and friends' experiences):
Cary audio SLP-98 with 6SN7 tubes (many say these tubes sound great)
VTL older 2.5 (I own one built in 2013 it's a tank
Modwright SWL 9.0 or LS100
I also would really look hard at Aric Audio, e.g.: this one.
Or another.
Aric is very polite, writes back quickly, engaged in his work, great customer reviews and reports.
I have researched this a lot. If you can keep an eye out for a DeHavilland UltraVerve III on the used sites, snap it up. They come up and they are really exceptional.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
