Help recommend a good tube preamp


I am looking for recommendations for a good, fully balanced tube preamp (< $4k - $12k) for my system:

DAC: Holo May

Power amp: Hegel H30 (input impedance (balanced / XLR) = 25k ohms)

Speakers: Focal Maestro Utopia III

Room: 20ft X 21ft

Music: mostly jazz / classical. Some classic rock.

Preamps tried before: McIntosh C2600, Hegel P30, Holo Serene, Rogue RP5

Constraints: output impedance should not be high (as my amplifier’s input impedance is quite low)

I tried C2600 (but with different amp / speakers).

Recently, I tried Rogue RP5 - sounded great but it does not have XLR out (H30’s unbalanced input impedance is a measly 9.6 kilo ohms). So, a natural recommendation would be the Rogue Audio RP7 - except that in the Stereophile review’s measurements section, John Atkinson recommends not using the pre with amps with less than 30k input impedance (affects low frequency response).

 

Thanks.

reg19

Showing 3 responses by oddiofyl

I would suggest the Zesto Leto Ultra II preamp.   I had the original Leto with the ESP power supply upgrade and it sounded amazing     The latest model is even better.   

All potentially good choices.   I recommended the Zesto because it has everything under the hood.  RCA , XLR,  2 pair RCA out, two pair XLR out , transformer coupled inputs and outputs.  Unbelievable sound,  super quiet, dynamic , detailed ....

Output impedance is 100 Ohms.   Great preamp, even better company.  Zesto support is first class.  I can't say enough good things about them.