You may want to look at the BHK preamp from PS audio. They just went on sale for 50% off. Great deal. I recently added one to my system and it is wonderful. It is a nice balance between SS and tubes.
Solid State Preamp to replace tube unit
I currently own a CJ tube preamp. Ive always owned tube preamps and I would like to get my first solid state preamp.I am fed up with buying expensive hard to find tubes that last 3 months or new production tubes with that not so great sound. I pine for consistency. I probably wont sell my CJ I'll just keep it. My power amps are NAD M23 for the summer and CJ Premiere 12's for the winter.
Since I dont dabble in the solid state world I am not sure what to get. I figure since this is my first SS unit 4-5k preowned??. Some brands I have considered CODA< Pass, AYRE, Classe, Bel Canto, Krell etc. Note: I have tried the Parasound and Benchmark but they didnt do it for me. I dont like anayltical sterile sound. If it is a touch warm/colored that is probably good as I am coming from a very warm CJ tube unit.
Must haves are a remote with balance control. Multiple outputs (XLR and RCA). I have an outboard phono pre. Thank you for reading and for your suggestions.
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@12many yes that IS a great deal. However it has tubes. Also I'd like to know what they are replacing it with... hmmmm |
The Ayre KXR is probably one of the best out there. I own the non-Twenty version and find it still performs above what can be bought today. And, if you really want tubes equipment that isn’t fussy, then the Atmasphere MP-1 or 3 would be my recommendation. And, Ralph Karsten is a great guy to talk to. He is on Audiogon under ’Atmasphere’ or you can just call him. He often answers the phone. B |
Below is a link to the tubes that were recommended to me for the Premier 17LS2. I believe they are NOS from the late 60's. This is reportedly a longer lasting tube. It's my understanding the c-j cranks up the juice on the tubes in some of their designs and that's why they have a short life span. This wasn't the case in my PV-14L. Those tubes lasted forever. |
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