which preamp

"thinking of buying a tube preamp,have it down to,"

How did you narrow it down to those 2 preamps? What did those 2 do right that made you pick them over other choices? Knowing that would help in making recommendations.

What other people say about these preamps really isn't all that relevant. If you get something without listening to it first, you're far more likely to fail than succeed. The preamp is the most important component to get right. If not, you'll just go crazy trying to fix your system.

"10-11-14: Smokenjo
as I said before not many audio stores in south florida, so to audition tube preamps is difficult,and to find a balanced tube pre that is in my price range. THE TRL dose not have a in home audition,so to read what other forums have to say about reviews of different preamps is helping my decision"

I understand where you are coming from, but buying a preamp without listening to it, especially tubes, is very risky. Have you tried Wellington Audio? He's in South Florida and has quite a bit of tube gear on display. There's no problem at all with bringing your current gear into the store and trying it with whatever he has. It's definitely worth the drive. Also, try The Cable Company. There's a good chance they may have a preamp to lend you.

"I agree about listening to a preamp before buying it. But it is not just a matter of tube products and risk. If you don't roll the right tubes in the preamp you may think you have a dud where you may actually have a jewel -- if you only knew.
Sabai (Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)"

While its possible that something like that can happen, I don't see why a demo would be any less important. Also, most people don't roll tubes, and its highly unlikely that you'll demo a new tube product at an authorized dealer with anything other than stock tubes in it.

"10-15-14: Sabai
Nglazer,

I am feeding it organic grain-fed beef. That's why the harmonics are superior.

Actually, I am using my own DIY cables in series with Shunyata."

As far as the grain goes, you can get further improvements using vintage, pre acid rain seeds, and grow them in a controlled environment.

With your cables running in series, do you just connect them randomly and see what sounds the best, or is there some type of strategy involved? The reason I ask is that I heard some cables that are a copper/silver alloy, and they don't sound like copper or silver. It was just a very interesting sound that I didn't expect. I was wondering if you can get the same type of sound running copper and silver cables in series, or is it the alloy that makes the difference.