2. amps-preamps
  3. 1346418325

Budget vacuum tube preamp?

I got so many great responses on my last thread regarding when to go vacuum vs solid I figured I would post my follow up in a separate thread.

It seems the way to go for the amount of maintenance I am willing to do is a vacuum preamp with solid amps. I would like to have the HT bypass so I can use my HT receiver for multi ch. movie listening.

With that said, I don't want to spend a fortune but I want to hear the benefit of my purchase. Where to look for a entry level vacuum preamp and how much should I be prepared to spend?

Thx
kooshballa

Showing 3 responses by unsound

unsound
7,343 posts
 
I would suggest matching your speakers to an appropriate amp, before deciding an an appropriate pre for your amp!
unsound
7,343 posts
 
There is more to system matching than just deciding to drop in a tube pre with a ss amp. What constitutes a "budget" to you? What is the input impedance of the ss amp? What is the sensitivity of the ss amp? Other than HT bypass, what other inputs, tape loops, and phono stages, etc. might you need? Do you have the appropriate space for a tube pre to breathe? What are the sonic qualities of the rest of your system, and do you plan for the tube pre to compliment/compensate towards the final sound you are seeking?
unsound
7,343 posts
 
At some time one does have to just hook it up and see how it sounds, but narrowing down the field IMHO ultimately is much less exhausting than needlessly and repeatedly buying and selling and reconfiguring.
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