Ed, a tube preamp will probably sound best with what you have. If your budget allows find a a Don Sachs DS 2 if you like detail or DeHavilland if you like warmth.
17 responses Add your response
Agree with a Tube Preamp, but not a lean sounding one that sounds like SS. With the DNA 1 w/MG3a’s you need a preamp to wake things up. Plenty nice affordable preamps out there and I bring it up every time because for the money I still think it’s The King; Modwright SWL 9.0 SE has PRAT. The little Modwright has a basic remote too. If you don’t care about a remote and on a budget, older Conrad and Johnson preamps are very nice. |
I had dna1 with rev a mods long ago with Vandersteen speakers. All I can suggest is what I owned with DNA. First was Rouge 99 magnum, BAT vk 5i se and Don Allen preamps. My favorite was the cheapest which was Don Allen, they pop up every once in a while in $500 range used. The Rouge was next with top end NOS tubes. The bat just never seemed to match well, maybe because it sounded more solid state than others to my ears. |
Post removed |
The input impedance of the DNA-1 is 100Kohms, which makes it a friendly load for most tube preamps. It only accepts single-ended inputs; @gdnrbob above mentioned our MP-3 (which is a balanced preamp) but I think you could do quite well with our UV-1, which is a single-ended preamp. |