What qualities stand out in really good solid state preamps?
Recently I posted on the Herron HL-1, asking people what they thought, how it compared, etc. It's been sold and that's ok. The search continues.
But it raises a question I'd like to ask folks:
What attributes do you look for in a good solid state preamp?
Some qualities — quietness, durability, seem pretty obvious.
But what other criteria do you use to differentiate between solid state preamps?
How can they differ and what matters to you?
Please let me know!
P.S. As I've looked around, I've begun to learn more about some of the legendary preamps — made by companies such as Threshold, Ayre, Bryston, Pass, Apt-Holman, and others. It's good to have these names as references, but it would be even more useful if I knew what these brands conveyed, sonically. I've played with the idea of getting a newer Schiit preamp and then I wonder -- what if there's a "classic" preamp out there, used? What would it deliver that was worth searching for?
@hilde45 does your Spring KTE have an optional preamp module installed? If your goal is to compare amps, it would be interesting to compare the amps by using a DAC’s preamp section. Or you can get Schiit SYS. It’s passive, transparent and cheap. Just a thought. |
@hilde45 "2. I recently compared two SS preamps and heard differences between them." If one of those preamps was more neutral than the other then you may have been hearing the cumulative effects of your source, amp and wires rather than contributions from the preamp. Two solid state preamps come to mind that others have described (in other forums here and in reviews elsewhere) as neutral or near-neutral and very transparent are the Benchmark LA-4 and the Holo Audio Serene. These should enable you to compare amps better than your tubed preamp. I recently removed an excellent solid state preamp from the chain and was amazed by what I heard. Now I am trying to decide if I should keep the preamp out of the chain and only use it when I listen to my phono front end, look for a different, completely neutral preamp, or go for a tubed preamp to ADD certain colorations that are desirable TO ME. Tough one. |
Have used several SS preamps from Krell, Spectral, Mac, Musical Fidelity & vintage Tandberg. I can emphatically say I personally prefer a tube preamp/tube amp setup to compliment my spakers and the rest of my kit however, I recently got to try an Audia Flight Linestage w/phono card that was without question the best SS line/pre I've ever experienced and for all the reasons previously spoken about. The power amp always holds the dynamics & soundscape card but this preamp was A. dead quiet B. is fully ballanced (thats my jam) C. added zero coloring that I could detect 4. visually, looks are stunning and it has the feel of a fine precision instrument. Now, I know little about this company other than what I've now read online after playing around with this thing but I could own one for sure. It would have to play well with my other gear but, looking at the specs and knowing it has an adjustable gain, it would be worth a shot. Maybe next time... just my opinion |
This is a very nice list. For my tastes, I will nitpick and slightly change
to just
I settled on the SimAudio 740P 8 years ago or so and that list is what I find it generally gives me compared to a handful of preamps I compared it with at the time and more importantly now when I constantly try different DACs as I swap them in and out of my system. It's been the one constant in my system over the last 8 years as amp, speakers, and many DACs come and go. With so many good DACs having preamp functionality it is so easy now a days to compare what a preamp does well and not so well when you swap in a very good DAC direct to your amp. I've yet to try a DAC direct (Bricasti M3 and Meitner MA3 are the two best I've tried direct) that beat it in a majority of that list. I've found the noise floor and ultimate resolution usually slightly win with the DAC but the others generally go to my preamp to my ears. The other attribute I really like in a preamp is the flexibility and quality of the volume control. I've tried some preamps both tube and solid state where the range of volume you can make when you slightly turn the volume knob is just too large and I can't get the small changes I want. I often try to adjust different songs with different recording levels to play at the same volume and it can be difficult if the volume control lacks small increments and doesn't explicitly show you a setting. The 740p for instance allows both 1dB down to 0.1dB volume changes depending on the range overall gain level and speed at which you change it, which makes levelling and adjusting to different songs a breeze! |
