First tube preamp recommendations (under $5k)

Preamps are really critical components to a system… of course they all are… but it is the component you build a system around. This is also the perfect place for tubes… you can put a really magical quality (not artificially so) by the careful choice of a great tube preamp. You have a world class amp. I can’t help but think you have greater aspirations for your system overall. In which case you might consider reaching up another tier by buying used. Something more matching the quality level of your amp.

Real high end stuff is built like a tank, highly reliable, and is bested less readily than lower end stuff (like your amp). Maybe used, Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, VAC… there are more. The next tier up has significant sophisticated gains in sound quality.

Yes, I do. I would find a way to listen to one.. see if you like the sound. My first good preamp was a used Audio Reseach. It took me out of the preamp market for over ten years… and slowly over the decades I was swayed to an all ARC system. I owned Pass amps for 40 years… the last an x350 for over 18 years… I got back in trade very nearly what I paid for it (net cost $500 for 18 years)! You can see my systems by clicking on my user name. I used ARC preamps / Pass amps for decades.

A good approach is to make a short list of great ones… then find which ones you can audition (car trip to a nearby city?). You will not be able to hear all of them. Then read the reviews really carefully of what you heard… then you can read the reviews of what you have not to see if you are interested. Each of these brands have “house” sounds… so over time they get better converging on more accurate … but with the same house sound. So, if you find your “house” then you can look for what you can afford.

@knighttodd. 
+1

+1 for GAT

The Shinzo recommendation is a really interesting one. I have never heard one… but read so very much. Shindo has a small but loyal following. I am always drawn to the descriptions. I lived in Japan off and on and knowing the dedication for details and iterative improvements,  and esoteric nature of the products  is intriguing. But I have never heard of a Shindo in with say a Pass amp and B&W speakers… it sounds like if you go down that path. If I find some extra money sometime I am going to buy one for fun and see where it leads.

Seriously a REF5 for $6,900CAD? I’d jump on that without a second thought.

The ARC REF 5Se is an outstanding preamp. It was the center of my system for at least five years. Don’t second guess this decision, it is a world class preamp. It would be a worthy component to keep indefinitely. Last year I did a major system upgrade… at that point I had spent so much money, I just said I might as well upgrade the preamp, so I swapped it for the ARC REF 6se. It is better, but it is or of the same class of preamp. It is $17,000 USD. So, enjoy your purchase. Thank your wife for pushing. I have a friend who dithers… he is 70 and has a few world class components and a couple he just couldn’t commit to upgrade… his system sounds terrible… like Sears components… Enjoy, you only live once… live well.

Here are my systems.
https://systems.audiogon.com/users/ghdprentice

Enjoy!

Thanks, I love my dogs too… and my system in that order.

ARC equipment is very accurate with an excellent midrange through bass (think non-colored warmth), but is not artificially warm. So it will sound detailed but not hard and cold. It also has outstanding rhythm and pace… musicalness. Rythm and pace is hard to put your finger on, but can be one of the most important attributes of a system… making you unconsciously tap your foot. It is what conveys the emotional content. ARC / tube equipment generally do a better job of this than most solid state equipment.

It couples exceptionally well with a Pass 350… which I used for well over a decade. If the ARC preamp doesn’t have quiet enough warmth for you, then make your next swap the Pass for an ARC amp… the more ARC the more better… when the whole chain is ARC it is incredibly magical.

@tomic601
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Sweet doggy. We had a pair of black labs a long time ago… loved them very much. You have a house full of beautiful systems as well. I had Apogee’s for many years.