Trying out a tube preamp

Get an Audible Illusions 3A. You will never look back. It costs far less then the Rogue and the CAT (Convergent) and has a wider and more detailed soundstage. PLUS various 6dj8 tubes really make vast differences. I saw one for below a grand recently.

I am using a DeHavilland Ultra Verve with my Bryston 14bsst,also have caldera wire to my Tyler Linbrooks.Great match,nicew warm sound.

Wow! Such a great response. I'll be up late tonight researching these pieces. Thanks very much.

Jgiacalo: I've actually heard the Rogue 99 Mag. That's what started me off with this idea for a change. Great suggestion.

Imin2u: I've also heard the Audible Illusions 3A. What a wonderful piece, and a great value.

I had BP25 preamp and 7BST monoblocks for three years. On a similar quest I auditioned a conrad johnson premier 17 preamp in the system. This really changed the sound considerably and I wished I could have had that preamp in the system for a longer period of time to really get into the sound of it. As I remember there was a sense of heightened sweetness to the sound with more detail and 3 dimensional imaging. Overall, the presentation was softened a bit relative to the BP25 but not in a negative way. Extension top and bottom was just as good but again different, bass was looser and highs were soft not sharp. You'd have to do this experiment for yourself. In the end opted for an preamp and amp upgrade that went the Krell route, but that's anothers story. The upshot is that I listen to my second system most of the time now, the heart of which is a cj CAV 50 tube integrated.

If you are willing to spend up to $5k there are lots of great no-miss pre-amps available. BAT, CAT, VAC, First Sound, Joule Electra, CJ, ARC. Come to mind. Supratek also. For line stage only, I would think that VAC Rennaissance, Supratek, Joule and First Sound would be where I would start. I had a CAT and found that it was too "high gain" and iwth the stepped attenuator, it was a problem getting the volume right.