Tube Preamps with Bass?


I love what a tube preamp does for the mids and soundstage in my system but I hear the loss of bass slam, weight and dynamics. I was looking at the Blue Circle G-3, Lamm LL2, CJ LS-17, First Sound Presence Deluxe, Joule Elextra.

Any opinions on these preamps or any others in the $5K or so price range mated to the Pass X-250 power amp and producing the added bass slam, weight and dynamics?

Thanks and Happy Listening.
bigkidz

Showing 1 response by holzhauer

Bobo, If a loudspeaker is capable of the lowest audible bass, it's possible that a preamp with poor bass extension will not allow the speaker to show what it can do. I tried the Hovland HP-100 with my full range speakers. It sounded fantastic except the whole bottom octave was missing.
Bigkidz, you have an excellent short list. The deepest bass I have heard from a tube preamp was the Thor TA-1000. It was every bit as deep as a high quality solid state preamp. Unfortunately it is $10,000. Maybe $5000 used.
Of those you mentioned I think the most positive comments I've heard were for the Joule and the Blue Circle.
The Supratek mentioned above has a big following on Audiogon. If for some reason you don't like it, you could probably sell it in a heartbeat.