I was almost certain Audio Research was going to be the first, and most frequently mentioned preamp; it’s almost impossible to not love that gear. I’m guessing that Nagra, Conrad Johnson, Luxman, Cary, Musical Fidelity, and Rogue will all have their proponents. Both the Audio Research Reference 6SE, and the Nagra Classic seem an attractive pairing, but my goodness that’s a lot of dough for a pre.
Tube preamp recommendations for Pass X260.8 monos
Hi all, I just got a new-to-me pair of Pass Labs X260.8 monoblocks. I’m interested in shopping around for a tube preamp to pair with them, and am curious of your general thoughts. I’m not sure of a budget just yet, but I know I’ll want something commensurate in build quality, performance, and yes… beauty. I’m pretty sure I can guess a few of your responses, but I’d love to see if something I haven’t considered shows up. Thanks in advance!
Showing 3 responses by aorigoni
Even though they are both at the upper end of my uncomfortable price range, I’m really curious if anyone has a sense of the difference in sound character between the Audio Research Reference 6se and the Nagra Classic Preamp. To my understanding they both lean towards the more articulate, non tube-like, dare I say clinical side of tubed preamps, but as it’s not practical for me to do a side by side, I’d love to hear input on the differences between them, or even Audio Research vs NAGRA sound signatures generally. |
@soix i don’t mind a little bit of tube warmth, but I’d rather it lean more toward neutral than overdone. |