So far IME Ive found a great preamp will mate well with many amps. Tube or Ss. MOS FET or Bipolar output devices. Push pull tubes in ultralinear, and Hybrids.
If where the volume knob rests when in use is a consideration for you, some further investigations might be necessary though.
In many matches, my preamp volume knob never gets past noon oclock. Usually residing somewhere between 9-11. it has a lot of gain, in the area of 20-23 db.
For myself though its no big deal
the sound and infulence it has on the music however, is indeed.
Good luck.
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IMO/IME when you go for synergy its one coloration counteracting another- not a good way to go if you really want neutrality. I recommend choosing equipment on its strengths, if that makes any sense. |
Just wondering if a desicion can be made based on the offerings? Synergy with amp must play a big role so it's a good place to start I guess. See what others listed here then peruse the forums to see if any threads mention if the pre matches with the amp one has already. |
Has anyone used an Allnic L-4000 pre ?
I am looking for a tube pre.
This I need for use with a Cadence Audio - Canasya 845 amplifier.
I had shortlisted a few;
Nagra
Octave
Music First Audio - the best I like - but out of 'budget' [non tube - but super pre amplifier]. May be amongst the 'best of the best' !
The Korean pre - not heard much about - except 6moons.
Can anyone suggest ? Opinion... Please...
Thanks,
schwinnaudio . com |
First Sound w/paramount Special Edition upgrade as first ,
First Sound Deluxe MKII w/paramount upgrade as second ,
Lamm ll2 deluxe[third] and L2 line stage [second ].
mbl 6010D is a very good also, line stage.
Possibly there were also others good preamps,but personaly i prefer the mentioned. |
AH is Audio Horizons. The TP2.0nB is/was their top model linestage preamp. Joseph is the designer, Joseph Chow.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1142509250&read&keyw&zzaudio=horizons
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What's an AH TP2 and who is Joseph?? |
Yes! The AH TP2.0nB that i have been using is wonderful. I didn't mess around with straight version. I wanted the best Joseph had to offer. So I got the full monty with Jensen Xformers, upgraded caps and tubes. I also have the DAC. They have a wonderful synergy together. For the money it is a steal! My problem is I also have a very expensive BC pre amp that has a lot more voltage and gain which works better in my smaller amp system! i can't say enough though about Joseph and his design philosophy. He offers a wonderful sounding product at a great price! goldenears |
If these were or were not previously mentioned I think they bear repeating... and my thoughts are based solely on my own conceptions from actually hearing them and not from just looking at their price points. It's a short list.
BAT VK5i... Just classic.
Thor TA 1000 .. A remarkable music maker.
Thor TA 1000 MK II... tough to improve upon near perfection but Marks pulled it off here.
I've heard several others in showrooms... and some mighty pricey ones too. Without question what so ever many were edged by the 5i.... and all were nailed by the thors.
Just my two cents... er, three cents. |
I can see some have listed solid state too. So to make this thread completely useless I will post my solid state recomendations too:
Connoisseur Definitions 3.0
Boulder 2010
FM Acoustics Resolution Series 268
Dynaudio Arbiter
Goldmund Mimesis 22 Signature
Krell Evolution Two
Burmester 808 Mk.V
MBL 6010D
Mark Levinson No.32
Halcro dm10
Spectral DMC-30SS
Jeff Rowland Design Group Criterion (Upcoming)
CTC Builders Blowtorch
dartZeel NHB-18NS
Bridge Audio Laboratories BAlabo BC-1 Mk.II
Cello Audio Suite
Pass Labs X0.2
Edge Electronics NL Reference (Upcoming)
Linn Klimax Control
Gryphon Mirage |
jtimothya,
I have not auditioned the Ref 3, but the MP-1 is a transparent, resolving, and dynamic preamp that surpasses my BAT P10 phono stage & gets very close to the music. |
Prima Luna, prologue 3 is the best one I know. It doesn't have to much of a tuby sound and is normally priced and is well build. |
This is obviously going to turn into a list of 100s and I'm not sure what is to be gained from that information. It might be more interesting to list your biggest dissapointment, that is a pre you bought thinking it was going to be great, great reviews and recommendations and it ended being a big dissapointment or did not live up to expecation or simply did not work well in your system. I guess that would be another thread. |
Tube Research Labs Platinum GTR Reference
Jadis JP-800
Conrad Johnson ART Series 3
Audio Research Reference 3
VTL TL-7.5 Series 2
Aesthetix Callisto Eclipse
Balanced Audio Technologies REX
Zanden Model 3000
The Messanger
Kondo M1000 Mk.II
First Sound Paramount Mk.II Special Edition Statement
Expressive Technologies Model 1
Audion Premier Quattro (4-Chassis Model)
Audio Tekne TEA-9501PCS
Loth-X Silbatone C-102
Essence The Jasper Reference
Shindo Labs Patrus III
Electron Images Amati
LAMM Industries L2
Wavac Audio PR-T1
Glass Master LC-1
McIntosh C1000C
There are too many to choose from. |
Kondo M1000 MKII but if you have to ask the price then look elsewhere! |
Alnolan, I'm very happy with my Wavestream and think its one of the best. I feel lucky to buy one as Wavestream can only build a small number per year. Still, it's always fun to hear some other pre-amp (Modwright) that has so many enthusiastic fans.
All, Is it pre-amp or preamp? Showing my age I suspose. |
I'm surprised, nobody mentioned Nick Doshi ALAAP preamp. |
Gerrym5
I've heard the Modwright its good but not in the same league as your Wavestream |
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Does anybody with a Modwright 9.0se live near San Jose, CA and want to share a listening session so I could hear it in person? |
Modwright 9.0SE definitely belongs on the list. |
If you are interested in the Ray Samuels B52,
please see my brief comments at the end of my
thread reviewing his Apache amp here:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ramps&1189739807&openmine&zzRgs92&4&5#Rgs92 |
Absolutely love Ray Samuels Audio B52 as a preamp
and you get the best headphone amp in the world.
I have one and love it and many many owners I have
spoken with agree. (No remote, though.) |
My vote would be for the Art Audio Alana. |
Cary SLP-05 in addition to the numerous others that have been listed here. |
Foe me It is Zanden 3000. Uncannily life like harmonics and tonal balance. You can hear in to low volume details clearly. Vocals are extremely lifelike and jumps out in the room free of speaker plane confinemnet. With minimum hifi like (of course assuming recordings to be good to begin with). |
Levinson No.32 and 380S, Krell KCT and Evo202, BAT VK-3 and 51SE, ARC LS 25 and 26 plus ref 2 and 3, Sonic Frontiers Linestage 3? (reference 2 chassis unit), Mcintosh C46 and C2000. |
Levinson 32 reference, ARC 2 and 3, BAT 51se, Krell Evo 202 and KCT, Mcintosh C46 and MC2000(tube), Sonic Frontiers reference linestage(#escapes me but it was 2 chassis)plus some old CJ stuff! Anything else would have been on demo only. |
Dave-b : what is for you "a ton of high end preamps" ?
Can you be more specific ?
Because "high end" does not mean rhe same for everybody... |
I've owned a ton of high end preamps and amps both tubed and solid state but I never heard such an amazingly "real" sound as when I hooked up my 400xi/sacd combo tp my res 2 speakers using Transparent MM PC's and MIT V2.2 cabling. The soundstage was huge, warm, layered and brimming with dynamics...clear, smooth and full..like vinyl!! |
Also add what kind of sound you like- neutral, warm, etc. |
A friend just bought a "Chenin" Supratek : very decieved, too much "tube in their bad side".
Maybe the Cabernet is better ?
@Patrickamory : thanx to the info for "Living stereo" Ihave discover new speakers from shindo : have you heard them ? |
SUPRATEK Cabernet, JADIS JPS2, with a special mention to the supratek for
the ratio performance/price.. |
Shindo in the northeast: In Living Stereo on East 4th Street in Manhattan. |
I agree that the Lamm LL2 was a very, very pleasing piece to listen to. I suspect very underrated, or at least too ignored. |
Wyetech Ruby. Where to find one you ask ?? Sonic Frontiers Line 3. Only in Canada, eh? Very cheeky Mark!! |
Gotta love that expression"harmonically bleached" is that the same as squeaky clean?Imagine asking someone what his impressions were of the pre amp he auditioned and the response was"well it was harmonically bleached"Now how dumb is that. |
I replace my accuphase c-2800 preamp with a lamm LL2 deluxe and the lamm lack in detail with high's/lows until I replace the stock tubes with mullards. The Lamm LL2 deluxe is an outstanding preamp when it consist of mullard tubes. The tube depot carries the black sable mullards that are truly the best tubes I have ever had in my preamps. It totally change the quality of the Lamm LL2 Deluxe. |
Does Shindo have any Northeast retailer?
The US importer is Jonathan Halpern at Tone Imports. He is a great guy and will point you in the right direction. |
Does Shindo have any Northeast retailer? |
Well I will add one I think is pretty good. It isn't anywhere near as expensive as the others mentioned, but I think equipment should be a balance of price and performance. It is fully balanced and tubed, the Cary SLP-2002. |
I haven't found anyone yet, but I also haven't found someone that has heard them either
I have. I own a Giscours. Samuel is correct. |
I haven't found anyone yet, but I also haven't found someone that has heard them either. |
Shindo Giscours is for now the best thing I have heard, by far.
Tonality, naturalness, weight, quite the perfection.
Try to find somebody who have already heard (REALLY) a shindo giscours or vosne romanee and prefer an other : noboby. |
CAT SL1, Joule LA-150MKII, and Placette Active. I also enjoyed the Lamm LL2 while I had it. |
My personal favorites are:
Audionote (uk) M-10 (silly expensive and WAY too many big boxes, no remote control, but magnificent in the right system. The M-7 sounded very good at a LOT less money, though it too is pricey.
Emotive Audio Epifania (with teflon caps). This is the unit I own. It has some odd quirks (some "pinging noise from the signal tube (12B4)), but it is fantastic at preserving acoustic cues for the recording venue without being analytical sounding.
Kondo M1000. Similar to Audionote (uk) but, perhaps a touch brighter than the Audionote stuff. But, that is not a bad thing in the right system.
I have heard other linestages in systems that I was not familiar with where the system sounded great (so how bad could the linestage be?). Among such impressive systems I liked a Shindo linestage (sorry I don't know the model). The top of the line LAMM is also promising for its beautiful and cohesive presentation of harmonic structure of the music. For solid state, I heard a system with the top of the line Connoisseur and it is promising too. At a FAR lower price point, I like the Ayre linestage (open and airy on top).
I have never been a fan of Audio Research gear (way too lean, harmonically bleached and brittle sounding for my taste). But, I've now heard several systems that sounded pretty decent that used the Ref. 3. In one of these systems, I also heard the VTL 7.5 and both have similar sound and a worth a look at, given that they are a lot cheaper than the four I recommend above. |
Hands down the Ref 3
Best preamp I have ever owned |
If you have heard *both* the ARC Ref3 and the Atma-Sphere MP-1, would you kindly share your opinion. TIA
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1. Wavestream (Scott Franklin's latest design)
2t. Aesthetix Callisto Signature
2t. Audio Note M-8
Based on long time listening in my own system |
Anyone hear the Silbatone battery preamp?
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0202/silbatone.htm |
