Neutral preamplifier recommendation $1K new


Must have: Active, remote, two XLR  inputs and XLR output.

Units I’m considering.

Denafrips Hestia

Ladder Bach

Schiit Kara

Topping Pre90

Vincent Audio SA32

Looking for a unit that measures well & has no/little sound of its own. Right now I’m leaning towards the Kara.

mybuddy

Showing 9 responses by mybuddy

I have a phono preamp and a DAC and both are keepers.

I’m looking for a $1K line stage NEW to partner with my tube amplifiers.

@lpretiring  I appreciate the The Truth Pre Amp recommendation. Not one I’ve seen before so I will investigate.

@yyzsantabarbara If $$$ was not an issue … I agree the LA4 is ideal. Used LA4 is almost 3x the price of a new Kara.

@carlsbad2 You have a recommendation?

@wturkey My phono preamp output impedance is 300 ohms so I am concerned. My amplifier will be fine at 147K. One reason why I haven’t the trigger on the Kara. I appreciate the input.


@sschlund I already have a phono preamp. Sorry I should have been more precise. I am looking for a line level only preamplifier.

@blackbag20 The DDP-1 has a built in DAC. Also it’s 10 years old & would be difficult to get repaired.

@robshaw  Unfortunately the Benchmark LA4 is way above my budget, even used. The preamps listed above are ~$1K NEW.

@yyzsantabarbara  The Mjolnir is primarily a headphone amp. It does not have the 2 XLR inputs & remote that I require. My listening is via speakers, NO headphones.

@mapman  As I noted above, I am leaning towards Schiit Kara; the current iteration of the Freya S. I like that it's built in the US with a 5 year warranty. This post is to see if there were similar preamps to consider.

I ended up purchasing the Schiit Freya+. I could not pass it up, Schiit is having a LAST CALL special saving $250!