Tube preamp with great pace?Cary, Supratek, etc.?


I am thinking seriously of moving to a tube preamp with the hope of breathing more life into my system. But I love the rhythmic core of music - call it PRAT, call it whatever - it is what grabs me, involves me, and keeps me up way, way too late listing to old LPs. I am afraid that without good, acurate pace, I don't care how "airy," "organic" or "blooming" the sound is, it just isn't musical to me. But if it can be combined with great pace, the tube sound is exactly what I am looking to add to my system.

So far, I've only been able to borrow a Rogue Magnum 88 to try in my system, and it was just too slow. I am considering a Cary SLP 98P, a Supratek Chenin, or perhaps a Herron VTSP1A/166. If anyone has heard these or any other tube preamp with good pace, please comment. Comparisons between them would be particularly welcome. My price range right now is 2K to 3K used, but if you know of something that is wonderful in this regard that costs more, I still want to hear about it.

There are few tube options available for me to audition in my area, and so generous Audiogoners, your input is greatly appreciated.

P.S. If you live in south-eastern Michigan and have a tube amp you are willing to let me hear, I offer in exchange lunch at the Ann Arbor restaurant of your choice.
newmanoc

Showing 5 responses by jay_douglas_2879b79

by all means, you're welcome. remember, the top priorities in a club or disco/dj system for prerecorded music is volume and prat. the other qualities of playback take a back seat to both.
the key to prat is matched components. naim, linn, and exposure (and revox, yes revox)have it. any of these companies would recommend 'like' components for best results.
mike..i agree. prat is a 'live music'-like quality, but it does come at the expense of weight and tone, other 'life like' qualities. it has since jbl and ar fought for the wallets of hi fi enthusiasts worldwide. they were opposites AND they were both right.
the 'pace' of recorded music is affected far more by your loudspeaker and the recording, than your amp or preamp. pretty much any quality amp ss or tube has the 'rhythm' thing down with a well matched speaker system. the material and driver/ribbon type also generally make a difference. also equipment which empasizes 'highs' and upper mids and 'sweeten' the female voice always sound faster and more open than ones that emulate the 'weight' of live music (real sounding drums, piano, organ,etc. and may not be as 'open' sounding.
all i'm saying is that i can't name any 'quality' preamps that don't have good prat. its simply inherant in all 'classic' components. accuphase, levinson,arc,mac,bryston,vac,cj,cary, naim....and yes...lots and lots more. i think the ability of any real hi end amp and preamp to deliver prat as well as tonal accuracy, with a wide variety of source components isn't that tough, provided they are well matched with speakers. unless you are purchasing some esoteric product with no track record or history whatsoever, there has never been a larger plate to choose from (even in michigan) then now. the reason naim is so synonomous with prat has more to do with system synergy than any exclusive attribute. trust your ears indeed, just don't believe that most respected hi end companies have somehow overlooked rhythm.