Which pre should I choose?

"Warm" I get, but wth does "thick" mean? "Not to (sic) fast sound"? You want a "slow" sounding pre? So, a warm, thick, and slow sounding pre. That should be pretty easy to find, and cheap!

I'm sure Accuphase would be flattered to know that you are considering one of their preamps for its warm, thick and slow sound (LOL). As bdp24 said, you can find that sound with many other products, and at a lower price.

If your looking for that warm golden sound... consider a vintage tube pre from CJ.  

vintage early 90's creek preamp will be in $99...150 range. it's slow, not too fast and very soft sounding.

I take faust168 comments to me warm musical and  flowing over sheer transient speed. 
Can't we have both?

If you want to inject some real warmth and feeling, try a tube pre amp. Sometimes having the right tube pre amp with a solid state amp can really bring awesome results! Proper matching of impedence should be no problem, with the right unit. I know matching components is nice, and will probably work very well indeed. But you only live once!!! ..I think...lol


Matt M

Don Sachs customizes the Tubes4HiFi SP14 preamp.

The SP14 uses 6SN7 tubes. Cost depends on which options and tubes you chose; the base configuration starts at $1,699.

Upgrading the output caps to Duelund CAST PIO-Cu will set you back $375.

Upgrading one pair of the 6sn7 tubes to Shuguang Black Treasure CV181z will cost $129.

Changing one set of RCA inputs to XLR is $275.

Worth adding to your list of possible candidates. The only problem is that since each one is custom built by Don, you can’t audition it before you buy (unless you know someone who owns one).

http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom%20line%20stage.html

I own one and can attest that Don is a great guy and very easy to work with. He will work with you to ensure that the output impedance of the preamp matches the input impedance of your amp.

And yes, his preamp is an incredible performer!

Aolmrd 1241: Tks for your suggestions. I am afraid the vintage gear will always need repair constantly. It will cost your time and money and inconvenience.  Also, I have heard that  Tube amp. is not as durable as transister one.

Vintage gear does not "need repair constantly ". In fact it is probably better made than most modern units.  As long as any electrolytic caps are replaced you should be good to go. 

analogluvr: Tks for your opinion. One of my friend also suggests me to choose a good solid state Pre. from famous brand for the longer life than the tube one.  What I care is once the vintage has problem, whether I can get it repair and recover.......... (according to the opinion of one audio service engineer, some times, too old gear might hard to find parts which had been produced long time 20~30 years ago.

faust168-

Consult Accuphase  for parts/service on those older pre-amps prior to any buying.  Those prices are on the high side for vintage pieces as well.

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

I agree with the suggestion for a tube preamp. It has been the single biggest improvement in my system. I can't speak to the "accuracy" of the sound, but the increased warmth made me want to listen longer than with a solid state unit.

faust168  said..."Aolmrd 1241: Tks for your suggestions. I am afraid the vintage gear will always need repair constantly. It will cost your time and money and inconvenience. Also, I have heard that Tube amp. is not as durable as transister one."

I thought you were interested in vintage gear since you mentioned that the SS preamps you were interested in were up to 24 years old. With that said... try to audition a Primaluna Dialogue Premium preamp. I own one, and it rocks!  Lots of info on line. 

 I cannot see parts availability being a problem either as resistors and capacitors are the same as they were years ago. There is really nothing very new in electronics. 

Good medium priced tube preamps are usually trouble free as the tubes last a long time.

faust168
  Which pre should I choose?

Schiit Freya at $699 with trail period, it has 3 different modes, tube, solid state, and passive.
Can't go wrong with this choice, specially seeing it's designed by Mike Moffat who was head designer at Theta.
http://schiit.com/products/freya

Cheers George