Which Pre-Amp Pass Labs or Audio Research

I recently saw the GamuT D3i preamp at the recent Newport show and had a chance to listen in a quieter environment thanks to the local GamuT dealer. It's a beautiful looking dual-mono preamp and it sounds great.

I hate to admit it, but I am seriously thinking about replacing my Conrad Johnson CT-6 for the GamuT. I don't really want to spend the money, but I was really captivated by the sound (and I hate it when that happens). It might be the quietest, most resolving preamp I have ever heard.

In my opinion Pass Labs creates stunning amps and good pre amps. But there is still a difference between stunning and good. In the world of Highend it is all about details what makes a tool stunning.

I owned the XP-20. It is a very good pre amp, but not a stunning one.

I have a client with the AR Ref 5SE. It never gave me the feeling it is a stunning pre amp either.

Thanks Barrysandy, I replaced the sovtek 6922 tubes for the mitsushita`s the change in sonics over the sovtek 6922 well worth it. I think that is as far as I want to go with the LS22 I`m thing about the resale on a modded preamp.