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I have seen some preamp queries popping up recently. Here is another shot at a basic list of some good options. I was aiming in the used $400-600 range with a few higher.

I have to admit I am smitten with the 6SN7/6SL7 in a preamp. The 6SN7 is one of the most open and linear tubes and just sounds so damn atmospheric. It has tremendous resolution while still sounding musical. There are other options as well running 12AU7/12AX7/6922 etc but I keep turning to the 6SN7/6SL7 alternative. Still, any of the below has good sound in the $400-600 price range

Some excellent cadidates are:

pre_wright.jpg

pre_ae3.jpg

pre_ae1.jpg

pre_cary_slp90.jpg

pre_cary_slp70.jpg

pre_korneff76.jpg

pre_pantheon.jpg

All these preamps will have compelling qualities, each with its own strengths, some overlapping, but all almost without question musical with resolution. Some will prefer certain models here. The Wright Sound WLA12a deserves some serious praise as it went up against my highly modified Cary SLP-70 and came pretty close. The AE-1 is the preamp that spawned the Cary SLP-98, and is excellent as well but not often seen used. The AE-3 is perhaps one of the least expensive alternatives that will also bring very nice sound; and ole Chris Robinson might be selling his to look at the Pantheon option. The Cary SLP-90/94 is a 12AU7 based unit that is lovely to look at and sounds great as well. I still prefer the 6SN7/6SL7. The Jeff Korneff 76 is getting some really good comments but must be found used to get in price range. The Cary SLP-70 is a real sleeper and an excellent 6SL7/6SN7 pre with separate power supply and phono stage. I rank it highly but you dont see it used too often either.

All of the above perform even better with NOS tubes and their are some great ones in the 6SN7/5692 camp. Prices do reflect these sonics, however. I believe it's worth it.

The last preamp is my friend's custom built 6SN7 SRPP line stage with tube rectification on a copper plate and hardwood chassis (pic of his power supply). This beast is beautiful and is probably the best deal NEW of the bunch at $975. I cant think of another new preamp out there that gives more for this amount. Sonically it is a winner in all ways.

Still, one could be happy with all the above depending. The AE-3 is the least expensive option coming in around $350-500 used with some good valves. The AES series does come in kits so I would look for a factory wired model. The better the options and tubes, the higher the price but worth it depending. And I love the little Wright Sound line stage.

Just some options to consider. Audiogon is the best place to look with ebay a distant second (check the other various online sale sites as well). And if a trusted forum member is selling, that is obviously one of the top choice for trust. Note, this list is not all inclusive either. Perhaps I'll add some other vintage/used options time permitting.

kh

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Thanks, Wolfram. Remember, that all the above stress simplicity and sonics over controls and functions. I tend to prefer models with very little in the signal path. This offers the best sonics for the least amount of money with minimal parts. Reliability is also better with less switching etc.

I think the preamp is one of the most important components in the chain as it deals with low levels and thus easy to come away with less than steller results. The average solid state preamp makes a mess of the line stage in my opinion, almost bar none.

In addition, the problem with vintage preamp options is while I believe the vintage amp to be an intelligent choice, the vintage preamp seem to over more compromise with more complication and less transparency than I generally prefer. That being said, there are some options out there that are cheap but many of the VERY vintage units require mods to reach potential. The preamp is one of the components I really like to come from more modern times. But I know of people that have taken EICO HF-85 and modified them to good result. Some other older (but not of that era) options are the MFA Magus, Audio Research SP-6c, Audio Research SP-8 (I dont generally like the Audio Research sound per say but the 6c and 8 can be good), VTL Ultimate (excellent but reliability questions), certain Conrad Johnson models (although these are opposite of the rather more bleached sound of the Audio Research, exhibiting more warmth, some feel TOO much). The first list is more neutral and transparent and based on the 6SN7 by and large. The models above stess the 12AX7/12AU7/6DJ8 etc.

As I said above, I generally shoot for the LESS is MORE approach. In my highly modified Cary SLP-70, I have removed the balance and added a very expensive TKD Stepped attenuator that costs a good portion of some WHOLE used preamps! Still, it was a jump in resolution.

One must always weigh in the phono stage as well as some would rather have that included. A line stage does call for a separate phono stage if into vinyl.

kh

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Thanks KH

I can see you're helping to narrow down the long list of preamps that use tubes, thanks much...I do like those Carys and the AES. It may seem like a little back-tracking if I ask an opinion on the new Welborne offering, http://www.welbornelabs.com/ultra.htm . It seems unusual with it's battery power and a tube I've not seen before. It is very new and I'm sure few have listened to it as of yet. Anyway care to offer your views??

RB

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I was looking at this preamp today as well. IF you are into kit building or have someone that is willing to build this, it looks to be very interesting. The results remain to be seen as far as the Welborne version although he usually makes some nice kits. As is, no one but Ron has heard this actual version of Jack Elliano's Ultrapath using the battery supply. The battery supply is an interesting option that does rid one of the detrimental effects of power line corruption/noise etc. On the other hand, you must have a good battery option with useful life and good/easy charging ability. I imagine Ron has worked this out to a good result.

My personal take on this would be very low noise floor and a clean sound...probably very buttoned up and quiet coming in more neutral than warmth. The later SET, Preamp, and turntable solutions have been trying to bridge the gap between solid state and tubes. In some ways, I actually welcome some of the tube harmonic richness if it doesnt sound like too much of a good thing.

kh

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Kelly:

Hope you are having a good holiday! I wish I was in the position to send you a picture of the new-improved (well, I think it is, anyway...)version of the AE-1. At least it no longer has the gaping hole in the front panel. It's back to a completely functional, dual mono (including power supply)configuration, and 95% of it has been rewired. I encountered one problem after the other with it. Both PS and preamp sections were grounded at different points all over the chassis, which doesn't help in terms of influx of spurious noise and ground loops. Both preamp and PS now have a separate, single earth ground which for some reason always works better for me than a single ground common to both sections.

Finally, a small-value grid stopper resistor was used on each volume control to get rid of some RF noise I was getting from some nearby transmission antennas. I also always use high voltage ceramic caps on either side of the AC line input to ground to snub line transient, as well as similar .01mfd ceramic capacitors across the power switch -- a trick I learned from a Dynaco PAS-2 schematic. Totally cures the little pop one can get if one forgets to turn equipment off in proper sequence (which I do all the time).

It't like new; I love it!; and I totally support your suggestion of a 6SN7 based preamp to the original author of this thread.

Erik

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I am glad that poor AES AE-1 found a good home and was rejuvinated back to life. I have really heard nothing but positives about that little kit preamp that seemingly offered a great base at an excellent price. Although there are different theories, the most plausible seems to lie in the idea that Cary went ahead and dropped the basic design into the SLP-98 and turned it into their flagship preamp at the time. Those with the AE-1 were left with the poor man's SLP-98 much to their happiness. You really dont see them used too often.

I dont know what's in there, but give a shot to a mix of good 5692 and Sylvania 6SN7WGT Chrome Tops. I bet this combo would really sing. The choice of tubes really does affect these preamps.

The only negative about the 6SN7/5692 preamps is the increasing expensive of the tubes and the fact that there isnt a modern version that sound nice(the Sovtek is horrible). I will say that my RCA red base 5692/5691 lasted over 10 years in my Cary (much of the time it was left on with only the standby engaged)!

kh

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Do check out the Uttrapath line stage at Welborne Labs. The schematic for the original one is also available from back issues of Vacuum Tube Valley. I have the schemtic for the (non-battery) version, and, just like the Direct Reactance amplifier (also now sold by Ron W.) is extremely simple. Some friends I know who have built the linestage from scratch have commented on some hum-related issues, which Jack E. and others at Vacuum Tube Valley mention as well. In the end, this translates into rather battle-ship like filter capacitance in order to bring it down to acceptable levels. Certainly Ron and Jack, in terms of what is now being offered by Welborne Labs, have de-bugged potential problem areas for prospective kit builders.

Another source for a great preamp in a similar price-range would be the Grounded Grid offered by Transcendent-Sound (aka Bruce Rozenblit). He is a very talented designer, with a real wealth of knowledge in audio electronics -- really electronics in general. This preamp is available in both kit and already-built form. Grounded grid circuits are often used in RF applications, and are evidently extremely fast and open-sounding. I'd check that out for sure! It uses 12AU7s (3, I think). I scratch built Rozenblit's first puplished line stage preamp, which was in an issue of Glass Audio. That was also a great preamp, with selectable output impedance (high and low) for good amp interface.

You might also have a look at the Bottlehead Foreplay. This can be purchased as a kit for a little over $100. Although it uses an AC filament supply (which can cause hum), it is still a very good, direct-coupled-low impedance cathode-follower circuit. For the money it's hard to beat. I built both the original kit (a few years ago), as well as more recently, my own tube-rectified version, which also uses a dedicated DC filament supply. It is really easy to build! Folks at Bottlehead have also just released what I've read to be a very good phono stage -- if you're interested vinyl.

In addition, you might also check out ebay for Dynaco stuff, such as the very well-known and respected PAS-3 preamp. My brother uses this, and absolutely loves it! I also have a PAS-4 (solid state)that is very, very good sounding. Fortunately, I haven't gotten so locked into tubes that I can't find good possiblities beyond the hollow-state landscape. I got this preamp for $37 on ebay, and it looks and performs as new; and coupled with tube amps sounds much better than it should for such a modest price.

Good luck in your search! Hey, if you haven't done so already, you might also consider, at least temporarily, a passive linestage (really just a volume control in a box). If you have your source equipment within very short distance of your amplifiers and speakers, you might try one of these. There are no active components of any kind, just simply a volume control and switching capability. One issue with this is the problem of comparatively higher output impedence (say, around 10K ohms...)trying to drive an interconnect -- which if too long causes roll-off of high frequencies. These a an absolute snap to make, using cheap but effective parts from Radio Shack. In my own experience, though, they just don't have the drive and impact of a good active gain stage.

Have fun a good luck with your search!

Erik

Also check out the Bottlehead Foreplay

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AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Get the Wright, get the Wright, Get the Wright. I've had one for 4 years (ok it's not the same model that you're considering) It's the best electronics money I've ever spent. It is so velvety, oh heck....this review is several years old (written when CLINTON was prez) but I'm still jazzed about this stuff!

The current madness regarding single-ended-triode (SET) amps finally infected me to the point where I just had to evaluate one or Ifd need to be strapped to a gurney and shot-up with 50cc of Thorazine-STAT. My new pair of Klipschorns were frolicking in the warm tube-fired guidance of Audio Research Corp but I just knew there was more to life. Oh sure it sounded great but what did everyone else, especially the Japanese, know about the SET/horn combination that I didnft? And was it really that good? And didnft I need to spend a Kajillion dollars to close in on Valhalla. I needed answers. So I emailed George and Brenda Wright at www.wright-sound.com. And over the next couple of months I tuned in, dropped out and got lost in a world heretofor only dreamt of\the land of reasonably priced, quality hi-fi...The idea of using real-low- powered tube amps bounced around awhile in my evil head before I schemed enough interesting angles for an article concerning the use of a three-watt amp, oh, excuse me, three-point-five watt amp in conjunction with some big-*** horns.

What kind of headroom are we talking here for one? And what about bass?

Mmmmmmm. Bass.

The ARC VT60/K-horn bass...youfd need a surfboard to ride that 35hz wave sometimes...Say what you will about the VT60fs black sheep status in the ARC line but that beauty will plumb the depths when called upon to do so.

And what about an amp /preamp combo\with a phono-stage yet\that sells for less than my now-discontinued ARC VT60? What kind of quality are we talking about here anyway? Judged from the pictures on the web-site, the Wright WPA 3.5 and the WPL10V look more like mean and nasty test equipment from a Nazi lab than the graceful ARC stuff in my rack...coal-black cases with industrial switches and ruthlessly efficient 2A3 tubes FROM RED CHINA! What in the sam hell could this stuff possibly sound like? Besides Pat Buchanan would beat the dog **** out of me if he saw me burning RED CHINESE tubes. And just what about subliminal messages? What kind of communist propaganda would be oozing from these Godless 2A3 output tubes? One day Ifd be relaxing with a little Miles or Coltrane and pretty soon Ifd start with the gpower-sweating.h The phone would ring and Angela Landsbury, on the other end, would suggest I, gPass the time with a little solitaire.h Before you knew it, wefd have a commie operative in the White House...

Doh!

The Yin and the Yang of Life

The love of music and the ggee-whizh of electronics comes together perfectly in hi-fi. It is the ultimate mix of art and science and all that happy crap. But in electronics, as the power and number of features increase so does circuit complexity and the sheer volume of componentry. It cannot be avoided. This is neither good nor bad necessarily. I would rather have a complex driver arrangement/network ala Richard Vandersteenfs Model 5 than a simpler rig that had simplicity as its only virtue. But a simple design that basically gets many important aspects of sound re-creation right, ala Paul Klipschfs Klipschorns, would seem to have less in the way of the music. (Although, if we were in Texas right now, Ifd stake the Klipsch design team to a fire-ant hill and dump a bottle of warm Royal Crown Cola on them for not removing that pointless elliptic filter in the tweeter path of their big three\La Scala, Belle and K-horn. It was put there to protect a delicate driver that Klipsch no longer uses. Snip the lead going to the cap and coil nearest the grill and you get rid of a ton of sibilance. Are you listening Mr. Hunter?)

And whatfs true in speakers is even more pronounced in preamps and amps. The Wright Sound Company gear has far fewer components than most. It is the simplest hi-fi amp Ifve ever played with. And because it uses point-to-point wiring instead of the more common circuit board, it is less prone to noise infiltration. To my way of thinking, this means less in between the signal and you.

Couple this with the fact that the K-hornfs crossover network has three capacitors, three coils and an inductor in the signal path wired point-to-point. See a trend? Yes, you cynical types are scoffing already arenft you? 1930fs technology\horns and SETs. Youfre right it is 1930s technology so if youfre looking for a technological showpiece youfll have to look elsewhere. But after extensive listening sessions with the Wright gear I believe the old ways are perhaps the best ways. Pete Townsend of the WHO once remarked, gLed Zeppelin perfected the sound of the four-piece band. Itfs gone downhill since.h And in some ways the same can be said of hi-fi.

Brass Tacks

The WPA 3.5 is a 3.5-watt-per-channel single-ended-triode, zero-feedback mono amplifier. It uses Magnequestý output transformers and is configured so as to be self-biasing. It has an unusually low sensitivity (2V required for rated output) but worked fine with an ARC LS7. The WPL10V is an extremely simple preamp with a phono stage. Both the amp and preamp feature captive power cords. The power supply of the preamp feeds DC voltage to the preamp via a microphone cord referred to in product literature as an gumbilical cordh

I placed the WPL10V unit on the second shelf of my Standesign Penta rack and its separate power supply on the bottom shelf. The ownerfs manual suggests separating the power supply from the preamp by at least 12-inches. I placed the WPA 3.5 Monoblocks side by side on homemade oak stand next to the Penta. Each component had its own Isobar surge suppresser/RFnoise filter connected to a dedicated circuit with an isolated ground receptacle.

Hook up was typical with nothing unusual to report. The selection of ohm taps on the back of the amps was different from most tube amps in that there is only one set of binding posts. Selection of ohm taps requires the user to move a spade lugged wire to the appropriate terminal on a plated terminal block. I quickly settled on the 4 ohm tap and left it there for the rest of the audition. The amps offer no provisions for balanced operation.

The preamp has no tape outs and no tape monitor, no mute, no tone controls, just two volume controls (one for each channel) and a selector. The phono stage is straight forward at 47Kohms shunted at 100 pF. The power switch is located on the power supply unit.

For this and all listening of late sources included a Thorens TD320MKIII with RDC platter/Shure V15VxMR and Pioneer Elite PD65 CD player. Speaker cables were Audio Quest Indigo and interconnects were AQ Turquoise. As I mentioned, I chose to use Klipschorns for this evaluation due to their 104db/w/m sensitivity and because all us horn-loving types know the audio legend about PWK voicing his K-horns with a 2A3 Brown amp.

From the first second of playback I knew I was in for a rare treat. After the first evening was over, I was convinced I was rocketing toward Valhalla.

First off, I have to report that this Wright set-up is quiet. The amps gently buzz a second or two after turning on but this only lasts a second. After that, all is silence when no signal is being supplied. Likewise, Mr. Wrightfs preamp is also dead quiet. Even the phono stage remains silent. Klipschorns donft lie about noise. The sensitivity of K-horns requires extremely quiet electronics and the Wright stuff fits that bill as well as any equipment Ifve heard\tube or solid state. Mr. Wrightfs preamp/amp is as quiet as a Clinton cabinet member come Senate hearing time.

Youfre probably wondering if 3.5-watts is enough to put the smack down on your *** and I must tell you that 3.5-watts from the Wright amp was plenty even when the decibels reached into the 108db+ range on heavy duty bass-intensive music. There may have been a little flattening or compression at this volume level but I certainly didnft stay up there for long. For a little louder than normal listening, averaging 98 db, the Wright 3.5s handled every transient perfectly and never even came close to running out of gas. The transient response was truly incredible. Way quick with the proverbial leading edges.

This is not to say that the WPAs pumped out the volume of bass that the VT60 could. It never did. If jackhammer bass is what youfre after stick with an ultralinear design. The strength of the WPAfs bass reproduction was not that it could dilate onefs sphincter valve, but that you could hear every fret and pluck on well recorded software. There is a quality of bass that Ifve not heard before from the K-horns. Magneplanar quickness and articulation.

This leads to the revelatory aspect of the Wright stuff. I had always thought that horns didnft really sing until they started getting pushed into the 98db range. The Wright combo made even soft listening sessions at 86db average enjoyable (My newest baby, Patrick Joseph, was sleeping upstairs). I could hear a loudness-switch-type fullness to the sound with the WPAs on idle.

The Wright gear combo stripped away all pretense of hi-fi and replaced it with life and sunlight. I know itfs clich to mention that the zero feedback/SET amps remove electronic haze but it is true in this case. The Wright amps did just that. Fingers on guitars strings and bows across violin strings sounded incredibly lifelike, particularly on Willie Nelsonfs Somewhere Over the Rainbow LP (Columbia FC 36883). The entire album is a minimalistfs dream with no electric stuff nor drums and Chesky-like clarity. This album is Willie and some good old boys picking classics in what sounds like live takes and no overdubs. Here the WPA shined like no other amp Ifve had on the big Klipsch. Williefs voice was presented in such a lush and forward three-dimensionality that he stands in front of you as opposed to the more common gyou are there, looking in through a windowh non-sense. Willie is here baby, yeah! In the living room. If youfre toes arenft tapping when Willie and the boys break into gExactly Like Youh check your pulse.

I must also report that the Wright combo images like no other equipment Ifve heard on the K-horns. Perhaps I should say that the combo got the hell out of the way of the image because much like fine optics, Ifve come to think that, as a general rule, the image is always there. Itfs just that the more optics/electronics you throw in its way, the worse the image. But whatever the case , these things image like a mo-fo. Not only did the K-horns image well side to side, the Wright combo enabled them to have front to back depth (a common criticism of K-horns is that they donft image front to back) In fact, if your speakers wonft image with this Wright combo, chop them into firewood ecause they ainft no good as speakers!

The phono preamp is an incredible bargain considering it is part of the $749.00 price of the WPL10V. Because the preamp did not have a tape out I could not truly test the phono stage unto itself. Be that as it may, it proved an excellent match with the much-underrated Shure V15VxMR. Vocals were forward and centered solidly when recorded that way. The lush presentation of female voices, notably Tori Amosf gCornflake Girlh from the Under the Pink LP (Warner UK pressing) revealed every breath\and Tori knows how to use her breath, grrrrrrrrrrr\she took and every heretofor unnoticed inflection. As far as I can tell there are no provisions to adjust loading short of soldering in new components. And I did experience a slight hum when turned to the phono input and I touched the volume controls. Grounding problems? I dunno but it occurred only when I touched the volume knobs would never be noticeable on<98db/w/m speaks.

As a linestage the WPL10V offered no surprises. It is not as edgy as the ARC LS-7 can occasionally be but does not seem to sacrifice delicate information in trade. How George Wright pulled this off I really donft know. Talk between sources (tested by playing a CD and then changing the selector to another input channel) was incredibly low. Again bettering the ARC LS-7. I donft personally care for dual volume controls and would prefer to see an Alps stereo pot or some such arrangement but I canft argue with results.

I am having extreme difficulty describing what the Wright combo sounds like because it gets so far out of the way of the sound. In terms of transient response I know of no peers. In terms of getting close to the performers, Leon Redbonefs version of gI Ainft Got Nobodyh from his Whistling in the Wind CD (Private Music P2 2117) got downright spooky what with being able to hear his lips move and subtle groans that I never heard after dozens of times hearing this tune. The Wright stuff presents music in such a live fashion\minus the cyclic compression and fluff of typical hi-fi gear\that itfs almost unfair to call it stereo equipment. Itfs more than that.

One phenomenon I noticed with the Wright gear that is worth reporting is a lack of sensitivity of cable choice. I did prefer to use the AQ speaker and interconnect wire but I got satisfactory results with the original Monster Cable running to the speaks and some basic Monster M350 interconnect. Typically Ifd hear a great deal of difference, switching between cables but in this case the difference was much less pronounced. I had to call George Wright and ask him about this. He acknowledged it and attributed it to lack of introduced feedback in his circuitry. Roger that!

So is it good stuff?

At this point I need to remind faithful readers that this is relatively inexpensive, hand made gear! I did not make any excuses for itfs price and held it up to some very esteemed products. The question I kept asking myself was not whether this stuff was better for the money, rather was this stuff better period. In many ways the answer was yes. In everyway that is important to me now the Wright gear bettered much more expensive stuff. If I really wanted to grockh and gpunch out the jams booyh I would probably turn to the VT60 for muscle. The VT60 can ghammerh and gslamh in a way the Wright stuff canft. But for critical listening and for acoustic music bring on the Wright. A properly voiced ultralinear for the bass horn and this 2A3 SET for the mids and highs in a bi-amp configuration on the K-horns-- heaven!

If you buy audio gear for the thick face plates and ten-ounce volume knobs youfll not consider Wright Sound Company. The Wright equipment uses good stuff like Hovland capacitors and Noble pots but itfs in no danger of winning beauty awards. Maybe a signature edition, eh George? With big-*** iso feet things and Babinga-wood side panels. And as Ifve mentioned, Ifm none too fond of the dual volume control arrangement. I would like to see some high-end jacks, lugs, etc., mounted on a bullet-proof plate due to my constant plugging-in and unplugging gear.

Small picks indeed for such wonderful products. I heartily endorse the design skills of George Wright. Wright Sound Companyfs WPA 3.5 Monoblocks and the WPL10V combo does for SET amplification what the original NAD 3020 did for entry level gear back in the early e80s.

jwgorman

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Dude, I think your apostrophe key is busted.

Good post. I wish I could afford the Wright sound gear.

You know, PTP wiring can bring on a lot of noise if done improperly.

And PCB wiring can be quiet if done properly.

Depends on the design and quality involved, IMO.

Brown amp? You mean the Brook 2A3, right?

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Holy review! And I remember reading that beast years ago. You might want to edit your post adding paragraph spaces, however; it's a bear to read in one block of text.

Some nice comments/observations. I generally feel the same way about the Wright Sound gear, especially the little WLA-12a preamp and 3.5 2A3 Monoblocks. Although I ulimately prefer the Moondogs in some ways I think the WRight Sound 3.5 has a lovely midrange and open quality. And to be fair, my Moondogs have been tweaked and are not the normal variety since they have Tantalum resistors, Jensen copper foil oils, and a tweaked PSU (not to mention the MagneQuest DS-025 outputs although some love the mids of the TFA-204 including ole George).

I think the 6SN7 WLA-12a is a very nice pre for the money and would perhaps jump up a notch with better PS caps and pots. Still, it came close to my tricked out Cary. Jean-Francois is going to try to top all with his 6SN7 SRPP line stage.

As for the point to point wiring comments from Mike, I agree somewhat. It does need proper layout to avoid hum. On the other hand, PTP wiring is easier to modify and maintain as well as DIY. It's also more robust contruction-wise. I generally think it superior but be sure that some great board components abound (my Cary pre has wide trace board).

kh

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Jim, here are some current choices I happen to like. Audiogon sees many of these quite often. The Wright Sound WLA-12a is a very nice little pre that sounds excellent and is seen at about $600 used. You do want some good valves for these beasts with better NOS 6SN7/5692 making a NICE and important contribution to the sound. All of these units walk all over most, if not all, solid state offerings.

kh

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  • 4 months later...

I wanted to dust off this pre-amp thread and ask if there were other suggestions for units that have a phono. I don't think the Cary SLP-70 with phono is going to show up any time soon. The Wrights are over $1k and most of the others don't have a phono.

Vintage?:

Scott (which models?)

EICO HF85 - Craig recommended this one and sold it to another Craig

FISHER

What about:

Rogue Audio 66

Conrad-Johnson

Audio Research - current model (SP16?) lists at $2500 but what about older models?

Any samples from audiogon?

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The Little unassuming HF-85 is a nice preamp ! I hated to let it go but the endless upgrade bug hit me !! I have to have some Mark III's 1.gif. I have a Scott 130 which offers the ultimate phono section but lags slightly behind the HF-85 in transparency on the high level inputs !

I would venture to say all the preamps above probably sound slightly better than anything vintage. I just like vintage stuff better for its value and total cool resto look.

Craig

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great to see you again kelly and thanks for the info about preamps, it just happens to be my next "issue" now that I have a JL 2A3 PP amp I may need a JL 6SN7 SRPP pre to mate with it (thought the darn thing sounds great paired with that ratty ole Marantz 7T...regards, tony

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Actually, Kelly is still AWOL from the forum (and happy to be out of here--he says he is far more productive by staying away!). I would love to have him back on board, but I don't think it's ever going to happen. But if anyone wants to exchange emails he is ALWAYS willing to help. I just sent him a great Blue Note LP ("Little Johnny C" by Johnny Coles) and we've been discussing it back and forth all morning.

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Tony, with those new JFL amps in the house, I would think you'd really want to see how good they could sound. What's coming out is only as good as what's going in, right?

I'm chomping on the bit to get my Pantheon (what a long story that's been, but a fruitful one surely) ... Maybe in about four weeks.

Dale's peeing in his pants over his ... He's spending a lot more time listening and less time posting which must mean he's enjoying the music more.

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I'm gonna wait to get used to the new addition (the beautiful 2A3 PP amp) before making preamp decisions. I also am anxious to hear your and dale's opinion of the pantheon in your systems before taking the leap. I can tell you his amp is amazing! so I am one step up now, even if my preamp is a "dangerfield" and no one gives the 7T any respect! keep me informed and tell dale to post some words about the preamp! regards, tony

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