I would consider a Krell KCT. Its a killer preamp!! I had quite a few preamps in the past, including Krell KRS2, KRC2, KRC HR, Parasound Halo P3, Classe DR six, Mark Levinson 380s, Jadis DPL original, and my thumbs up are going to KCT. If you have the opportunity at some point to listen to it you will be amazed of what it can do!
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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@jimbones - seems you have a curiosity itch to scratch. I suggest you keep your CJ while trying out another preamp maybe used to mitigate costs, then you can resell at minimal loss. I find your situation interesting. CJ offers one of the most “musical” preamps and is usually an endgame destination. After demoing to find the sound I like, I’ve built a SS neutral linear system targeting fidelity and dropping the noise floor. But I’m also building a second flea watt system to discover tube sonics beginning with flea watt SET amps. I’m trying to educate myself of tube Sonics differences without major investments in tubes. |
@jimbones I am going thru the same thing at the moment. I recently just sold off a tube pre amp and I'm going solid state. Also trying to decide if I want to keep my original Power amplifier or upgrade to an NAD m23. how do you like the M23? What is it like? I have been looking at integrated amps and staying separate (maybe considering an M66) There is a lot of choice these days and the hunt for something new is the half the fun. |
@mbrusso the NAD although very good is not as good as my tube power amp. The tube unit fleshes out instruments better. the M66 is supposed to be very good, however it is a digital pre and I wanted to stay in the analog domain. SS and digital are getting better all the time. However if you are into super critical listening I think the tubes are still better unless you spend uber amounts of money on SS |
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