Tubed Pre to mate with W4S monos 1K budget

Bwp,

I own the Consonance Cyber 222 preamp and I've been very pleased with it. 4 6SN7s in an SRPP layout, tube rectified, Auricaps, external power supply, very nice build quality. Tube rolling makes a big difference with the Cyber so you can alter the sound to your taste; I've just started experimenting there. The only caution is the relatively high gain (20 dB) and the remote, which works but is a little quirky. It appears the gain of all the W4S monos is 27 dB, so you'd want to watch your overall gain if you have efficient speakers. Feel free to email me if you have more questions.

David

Bwp,

The Modwright was on my short list too, and was the only non-6SN7 preamp I considered. My other favorite was the Cary SLP-98. I need at least 4 inputs so that ruled out the AES and a couple others. In the end, I got such a great deal on the Cyber 222 that I couldn't pass it up.

An Audiogoner who had owned both the Cyber and the Cary said they were very similar, with the Cary being just slightly darker. Their circuits are very close, but the Cyber is significantly less expensive.

David