well, you're budget is really pinching, but, if you could it stretch it a bit, you might find an older ARC Ls2b, a hyprid tube/solid state. VERY high quality.
good luck
jb
good luck
jb
What is the best tube pre for $350 used? HF detail
Anyone can get a great sounding tube preamp for $6000, if you have the money to blow, have the ears to tell a difference, and care enough to spend that much. Same thing with $3000 or $1000. Let's lower the bar as far as it will go and see what gets under it. I am looking for a tube preamp with the best soundstage and high/mid frequency detail possible for the $300-350 price range. A little bright is OK. Upgrading the tubes/mods later is OK. In that price range I have found Audioresearch, LA audio, Amc, Conrad Johnson, YA audio(maybe). Golden tube is out because I can't afford to throw it away when it inevitably breaks. Out of those or any others, what do you think can yield the best soundstage and upper freq detail?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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- 15 posts total
Hi Mechans, The notion you and Uncle Kevin share regarding bass bloat was not remotely a prominent feature. it wasn't evident to me or anyone who had heard it.It may have been room mode excitement in my case, but I've heard others comment on the bloat. Clio09 said the same thing here: I think it's typical of the Cary house sound to be a little bloated on the bottom end. Mids are Cary's strong suit IMO.The fact that I didn't hear it with the DJH using the same tubes is reason enough to believe that it was the preamp. If I had been more diligent with tube rolling maybe I could have tamed the bass, but I didn't want to spend the time and money to do that. I disagree with your assesment of the 6SN7s you chose the 5692 are well known for their smooth soft attack I own a couple pairs just because I collect this tube. The GTBs are also on the warm colored side IMHO very euphonic but suffers attacks of hayfever periodically with a buzzy chesty resonance which makes them a great choice.Maybe the AE-3 emphasized some of these euphonic qualities. I think we both agree these are decent tubes. I was only trying to point out that the same tubes didn't sound bloated in the DJH. Maybe bloated is too strong of a word, but I can't think of a better way to describe it. Don't get me wrong, the AE-3 is worth checking out. But in my opinion, the DJH is a much more balanced-sounding preamp. You'll find others that agree at Audio Review. These seem like honest reviews if you have a minute to read them. |
Can't speak for the Bottlehead Foreplays never heard one, but check out a nicely updated Dyna Pas 2 or 3. Pretty amazing sounding. I had a Music Reference RM5 mkII (Stereophile Recommended Class B) many years ago. I sent it back to Roger Modjeski to repair a very minor problem with the mute switch and the audio dealer gave me a PAS 2 to listen to while I waited. When the Music Reference returned, I didn't want to return the PAS 2. I liked the PAS 2 a whole lot better. Never heard the counterpoints but a SA3.1 supposed to be a nice preamp too... |
- 15 posts total