2. amps-preamps
  3. 1357490475

I’m looking for suggestions for a tube Pre Amp

My Current System:

Benchmark USB DAC1
NAD M3 Integrated Amp
Vandersteen 2CE

For a long time I was rocking a Wavelength Brick USB Dac (which is a tube dac) as my source component, but have now moved to a Benchmark DAC1 USB. I like the idea of having a tube somewhere in my system but I don’t really think I can afford to maintain a tube amplifier. That being said, I’m considering adding in a nice tube preamp then use my NAD as a power amp only (and potentially moving away from the integrated NAD at some point).

Can anyone suggest a moderately priced Tube Preamp that would complement this system well?
slappyjam

Showing 4 responses by slappyjam

slappyjam's avatar
slappyjam OP
4 posts
 
Sure, somewhere between $1-2k
slappyjam's avatar
slappyjam OP
4 posts
 
Jmcgrogan2 - Excellent question. I think I'm looking more for the warm, lush and tubey kind of sound. That's what I feel like I had when I was using the Wavelength Brick tube DAC as my source.
slappyjam's avatar
slappyjam OP
4 posts
 
Preferably used... I hate paying retail. But I would be willing to do new if there was a in-home trial offer of some kind.
slappyjam's avatar
slappyjam OP
4 posts
 
Sidssp - IRT the preamp in the Benchmark. I use the DAC in Calibrated mode which appears to bypass the pre in the DAC. My guess is that the pre in the NAD M3 is superior to the one in the Benchmark.
More to discover