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Hi end tube preamps, it’s all about functionality!!

So most preamps over $10 grand all sound very good.  But functionality varies widely and a challenge to readily figure out.


some remotes don’t turn on unit,  some leave tubes on while watching tv/movies assuming they have ht bypass functionality,  some turn off avr when change is made to stereo listening (McIntosh), some use 3 tubes and some use 8 tubes, volume control process differences, power supply being external or internal, and many more feature variations.


it is a mess.  The marketplace over time will make a buying decision abit easier as brands soon learn that the avr/stereo integration is a very important market and ease of use along with running costs need to be considered more carefully.
emergingsoul
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,639 posts
 
Hi end tube preamps, it’s all about functionality!!
This statement is false; this thread is based on a false assumption. Maybe we can disabuse that.


In high end audio, the goal is getting the music to sound real. Many preamps have that as a goal. Certainly 2-channel reproduction is what most of them are designed for. Some accommodate home theater but it should not be a foregone conclusion that they all do, since home theater often involves a processor and other hardware that is often not welcome in an audio system whose main goal is to get the music to sound real.

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
Clearly in a previous life emergingsoul was a terrier.  He just won't let go.
xenolith's avatar
xenolith
120 posts
 
Have a tube preamp being built for me right now.  Has 1 tube (6BL7GT), one knob (volume) and 2 toggle switches (on/off and input 1/2).  Bet it will sound better than any "high end" preamp.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,639 posts
 
Bet it will sound better than any "high end" preamp.
The value of the bet being how much you paid for this... The 6BL7 is a nice tube, but with only one the circuit possibilities are limited. But in the right situation it should sound quite nice.
xenolith's avatar
xenolith
120 posts
 
Right.  Don't know the price yet, but I'll pay more than I am asked to pay for it in order to compensate the builder for the ridiculously low price of the awesome two 2x6BL7 & 4xKT77 monoblocks that he built for me.

Agreed about the single tube.  I talked to the builder (Charlie Cocci) about using two, one for each channel...possibly even using just one triode per tube per channel like the Dodd Battery Powered Preamp (my current preamp) does, but he says that in this circuit nothing would be gained by doing that.  Based on how impressive his amps are, I'm inclined to let the builder build the thing the way he thinks it's best to build it.

Truth is he's actually building two preamps for me; the other one being a modified (less circuitry) version of Eric Barbour's Brute Force linestage (https://headwizememorial.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/brute-force-in-a-line-stage/).  I get to keep whichever one I like most.  Should be fun!
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