2. amps-preamps
  3. 1095897282

Good tube preamp w/ HT bypass

I've finally decided to snag an AVM30 for my pre-pro, and aragon 8008 amps for my amplification (or Sherbourne 7/2100 - I bought both, and will sell whichever I like less).

However, I keep hearing about tubes! I don't have any experience with them, but I'd love to give it a try. I've read that by combining SS amplification with tube preamps, I can preserve the bass control of the SS w/ the midrange of tubes.

SO - are there any preamps you can recommend to me to try and/or demo? I need it to have HT bypass, so I can use my HT rig separately from this...

I've read the Rogue Magnum 66 is good... The audio research sp-16l is supposed to be good... And the TAD-150 was recommended to me (http://www.angelfire.com/biz/bizzyb/TAD-150.html) but I can't find any other information on it.

Non tube pres that have been recommended to me are the sonic euphoria plc and adcom 750; but i'm not sure if either would better the avm30.

Oh; budget would be $500-1000, used or new. Thanks for any recommendations!
kincade

Showing 1 response by ryder

ryder
1,738 posts
 
Hi Kincade,

I'm sorry to hear that the SF Line 1 didn't live up to your expectations. I agree that SF gears are slightly cleaner in their presentation and 'untubey' in comparison with other tube preamps but I wouldn't use the word 'harsh' to describe the top-end of the Line 1. I would think it's somewhere in your chain that has led to the perceived harshness. Seems like your Anthem Statement D1 is a much smoother machine than the Sonic Frontiers.
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