What pre-amp goes well with the Tenor 150 HPs amp?

having tried lots of preamps (at least 10 others......although none of those you listed) with Tenor 300 Hybrids and Tenor OTL's; the winner for me was the Placette passive RVC.

as long as you keep the interconnects very short between the Placette and the Tenors it has a great synergy. Tenor used resistive based passive for designing the Tenors.

i would expect that most any good pre would work well with the Tenor 150's as it is quite neutral and natural sounding.

ask me in a few weeks and i'll be able to tell you how my Tenor 300's match with the new darTZeel battery powered pre.....it will likely be amazing. i can't try it yet as the pre-production dart pre i have only has BNC outputs operational.

Thanks Mike,

We've spoken of your preferance for the Placette and I intend on checking it out in detail. Although I get the feeling that the Dart will likely be a major improvement over the Placette based on your descriprions thus far.

Interestingly, I have spoken with Stephane from CDF Audio in Montreal (who is currently implementing the newest updates to my 150 HPs) and mentioned your comments about voicing with resistive based passive's. CDF Audio has taken on the responsibility of repair and maintanence of all Tenor product until Tenor is (hopefully) re-established. His response was that the Tenor's sounded their best in nearfield listening with Passive's but that at normal listening distances in a well set up room (which you certainly have and I will have once I'm done) that an active pre would sound best. He also said he had never heard that the Tenor's were voiced or designed with passive's in mind. In fact, he rattled off quite a few pre's used in voicing the Tenor's.

With the OTL's unique multi-input design maybe it was specifically designed for a passive pre.

He suggested the VTL, which I had not really previously considered. The VTL's reputation is quite excellent and certainly worth looking into though. I am in the final stages of securing a VAC Ren Sig I pre which I will have upgraded to a Sig II.

I know you liked the CJ ART but felt the Placette a better match overall. I am trying to get a solid feel for your exact tastes so I can judge how we listen and what we value; and any differences that may exist. This way I can use your judgement and opinoons to their best effect.

On the room side, I have narrowed it down to a room most likely about 17' X 24' X 9' . I know that will prohibit me from some speakers but I think I can easily survive with the remaining choices. I do think your 9's would be a bit big for my room (although not by a huge amount). For now I htink the Talon's will keep me busy for a while...

Thanks.

-Matt