Solid State Preamp to replace tube unit

I have been running tube gear for more than twenty years and never had a single tube go bad.  The tubes in my current linestage were of unknown age and usage before they went into my unit which I have owned for more than 15 years.  The amp I’ve had even longer and it too had old tubes installed when I got them.  My phonostage, which has tubes and a separate power supply, suffered the only “failure” I’ve ever had—a shelf fell on the power supply wiping out the twin 300B’s that served as rectifiers; this happened a couple of weeks ago.

I have been using a preamp with a selectable tube gain section (Pro-Ject Pre Box RS2 Digital) with a ss class-D amp (NAD C298, which uses a Purify design). The combination has worked very well. The amplifier is rated 185W into 8 ohms.

lordrootman,

why are you selling? The p8 is an absolutely phenomenal preamp I can understand selling the w8 because the 861 is so much better, It's going to be hard to beat the p8.

+1 on the Coda 07x. Excellent sounding SS preamp. 

I'm either VERY LUCKY or an anomaly.  I have 3 tube amps and 2 tube preamps (McIntosh MC-225 paired with an Audio Research SP17, a Dennis Had Inspire "Fire Bottle" 45 paired with a Dennis Had LP3.1, and a Reisong A10 EL34 Integrated).  The stock Reisong tubes were replaced in 2018 with NOS tubes, the Dennis Had gear has Emission Labs 45 tubes I installed in 2018, the ARC tubes are more than 10 years old (I bought it in 2020 from the original owner and he had receipts where he replaced the tubes in 2012) and the McIntosh has Westinghouse 7591 "Made For McIntosh" tubes that appear to be original based on my research (I bought it from the original owner in 2021 who bought it in 1963, my year of birth -- he said he had never replaced the tubes and the technician I had go over it said all tubes looked original, it had been in storage for 20 years).

Each system gets played several times a week, for an hour or two each session.  For those of you with far more knowledge than I have...what am I doing right??  I'm not complaining, far from it.  But how can the OP go through tubes as he said and I have Dorian Gray tubes??

Thanks for the clarification

@vthokie83 Im not blowing the per se., they do get noisy. I only had one that was a bad failure.

I struggled with this for about 3 years.

I needed a preamp with balanced out to go between my Manley Snapper monoblocks and my Holo May KTE DAC.

Tried quite a few.

In the end I wound up with a Levinson 523.
Probably outside your budget even used, but it was also outside my budget when I started looking.

It meets your criteria including balance control on the remote, and it is a seriously fantastic piece of gear (better be for the price).

I got mine used at about 1/2 retail.

Jimbones,

Best of luck on the SS preamp search, but I can't offer any suggestions. I thought I liked them when I owned them, but then swapped in an Aric Audio Motherlode XL 6SN7 preamp.....I can't ever go back now.

Bigger question to me, is why are you blowing preamp tubes in an amazing preamp? I have never blown a preamp tube in any amp or preamp, in a dozen years over 5 devices.

Keep us up to date, I'm interested in what you find to your liking

I have Simaudio Moon P8 Preamp and W8 Amplifier for sale which sounds amazing but I’m selling pair together contact me if you are interested 

Very easy - Coda Fet preamp , retail around $7500it is a solid state preamp I would buy it is almost tube like but with exceptional detail and realism.

great reviews, Call Mike at Audio Archon tell him Paul L sent you 

you can discuss in detail ,fair pricing Excellent service a true Great preamplifier by Any standard my brother owns that and about 5 others even more $$ preamps.

Audio is his $$$ playground 

If you use ROON try the digital balance control of ROON vs the analog of your next preamp. My Benchmark LA4 has a great Balance but not as good as the ROON setup. Though ROON only works for digital streaming.

No I have a Reflector tube (not sure what the tube designation is, maybe it is a 7dj8?_) I just installed a 1980's era American made 6DJ8 no manufacturer name on it. Sounds good.......for now lol

@jimbones  Did you ever try Philips Holland 7DJ8 / PCC88 tubes in the ET-5?  I bought a bunch of them for the 17LS2 (it takes four tubes).  I had read that they sound good and they last longer.  Tube Depot has them for $59.

I was bummed when I had to return the 17LS2, but in my opinion, the LTA sounds better. 

I already have the ET5 which is higher in the line than the 3 ( I think) I am wondering if a Pass XP20 or XP22 is better than the ET5...

I have even a better suggestion, I think 🤔. Why don’t you opt for a recent model CJ pre? Something like the ET3 or better yet the ET3SE only uses one (1) tube in their line sections. Yes they do have a reputation for being hard on tubes but you don’t need NOS for something like the ET3 to sound really good. New EH are $25 - $30 bucks so you can afford to keep a few in reserve. I have a friend that runs an ET3 with his Pr.11. The system sounds really good and best of all it sounds like Conrad Johnson. No withdrawal needed😎.

get a Music Reference…. have it gone thru by a respected tech if needed, load it w RAM low noise tubes and ahhhhh. Modjeski famous for LONG tube life n sonics for a reason…. i sold a lot of CJ gear and owned a Premier 3….. so yea, i get the attraction….

The Ayre recommendation is certainly solid gear but it’s like pure water neutral and shines in XLR usage >>>>> power amp. ditto for more modern ARC using 6H30

Ive had a KX-R in my system long term evaluation and own a REF5se

Have fun

I had a conrad-johnson PV-14L preamp. The best tubes were a little hard to find (Mullard M8080), but they lasted forever.  I upgraded to a Premier 17LS2, but it developed an issue and I returned it.

I went to a LTA MicroZOTL preamp.  It's not known be be overly warm sounding like the older c-j, so I was worried that I'd miss the warmth.  Don't miss it at all.  The LTA takes four tubes, but they last a long time.  The NOS Telefunken tubes that I like are a little pricey, but there are NOS Siemens tubes that are a close second for less money. 

Jim.....I have the Ayre K 1xemp......I believe the K1 is the higher end than is the K5.    I've been loving this thing for many years (bought it new)....never a problem.   I'm using it with balanced cables have the phono pre installed...dead silent even with the volume high.   Recommended

@marco1 ha ha thanks. I know what you mean. But I think since I wont actually part ways with the CJ, I can experiment with out going through withdrawal.

@stringreen the K x5emp? It seems there are multiple versions of this pre..

You might want to check out the Schiit Kara preamp. It's received a number of glowing reviews. I haven't personally tried this model but I've been very pleased with all the Schiit gear I've tried.  They do have a trial period for their gear with a 5% restocking fee on this model.

even a used one........get Ayre

I don’t believe you’ll be happy switching to a SS pre.  I like you use Class D amps in the summer and tubes the rest of the year.  I actually owned Pr.12’s for a number of years with a Pr. 16.  I tried going with a SS pre a few times but always found myself back to using a tube pre.  Right now, with my tube pre in for service (I know they can be a pain sometimes) I’m using a solid state pre with a tube amp.  The change is kind of like going from a tube amp to Class D just to give you a feel for what you could expect.  Just a suggestion, if you must have a SS pre why don’t you look for a Pr. 18.  They’re not plentiful but do come up occasionally and would keep the CJ house sound. Pass labs might also get you close.  Over the years I’ve actually tried both and while both were certainly listenable, they’re not something I’d want over the long haul.

Oooh, this could be a very fraught move. I can’t imagine going that direction. Consider Zesto, Audio Research or VAC. CJ is not a sound easily left behind.

Hey jimbones,

The  SPL Elector preamplifier is what you might really be what you are looking for. Based on price, quality of manufacturing, and most important performance. Take a look at my Stereo Times review on it for lots of information.

Teajay