What claudebond said. The tubes4hifi SP14 takes a back seat to nobody at any price. Exceptional. You do see them pop up on the used market if you're patient enough, but you have to be diligent and willing to wait. Most people build one and never buy another.
Maybe tube preamp
My current setup is Tidal; ifi nano DSD; Parasound HCA 2200 (recent purchase) ; Magnepan 1.7i
This arrangement sounds pretty good at low volume with most material. However I think it would benefit from a preamp. The ifi's output maxes out at 1.3 volts. I was thinking the warmth of a tube preamp would be a good match for this setup. Years ago I had a New York Audio Labs setup. I liked it but it save for the noise floor. My HCA 2200 is blissfully silent.
My budget is about $1,000
Advice?
This arrangement sounds pretty good at low volume with most material. However I think it would benefit from a preamp. The ifi's output maxes out at 1.3 volts. I was thinking the warmth of a tube preamp would be a good match for this setup. Years ago I had a New York Audio Labs setup. I liked it but it save for the noise floor. My HCA 2200 is blissfully silent.
My budget is about $1,000
Advice?