Looking for a New Preamp-- What Preamp Are You Using? Especially Interested in Tube Pre's Thanks!

[jjptkd]

8 minutes ago, rmlowz said:

I have several preamps Mapletree, Schitt Audio and a Cary clone my favorite lately is my Transcendent Grounded Grid Preamp Most transparent of all of them. You can get them used very reasonable

 

 I ran across "The Fixer" from Transcendent but looks like it only comes in kit form. My custom speakers are meant for behind screen applications so they run a bit hot on the high end which is why I need some sort of tone controls. With my current setup I have the bass boosted through the TG-IV Pre and it sounds good just know it can sound better.

 

I had a Sunfire Tube Pre some years back and thought it easily bested my TG-IV with a very sweet, smooth almost holographic soundstage wouldn't mind another one of those with the remote control option but they are a bit long in the tooth now and with Flannery's Vintage Audio shut down (my friend and neighbor) service options aren't great for me any more plus the 19" width won't fit in my current rack set up.  

[jjptkd]

 After much thought and hours of Youtube reviews I went ahead and ordered the RME DAC-- last time I got an itch to upgrade my Pre I bought my Topping DAC and that has held me over for quite awhile although it could not actually replace my TG-IV it really kicked it up a notch in sound quality. I'm hoping with the DSP features of this new DAC I'll finally be able to remove the Sunfire Pre and set it aside for a future multi-channel system. 

 

I'm going to play with the new DAC for a bit but may still end up pairing it with a tube pre either the Shiit Freya + or the 10 Octave Line Stage tops my list right now. Thanks to all those who contributed it's interesting to see what gear other people are using I'll report back with my impressions of the new DAC / Pre once it arrives.

 

 

[ned]

I can only speak to the Parasound and I'll say good things. 

 

I have a vintage Fisher 400-c pre that has 7 tubes (some for the phono section only) and it is very sweet but is not as crisp as the Parasound. I would not say it represents modern tube pre amps but it gives me the chance to change things up if I want. It is definitely fun listening to tubes and getting involved with the equipment.  I also have the Parasound P6 and I love it. It is in service almost all day every day and requires absolutely no attention. As you know, it has its own D/A converter which allows me to bluetooth in optical (avoiding what ever step-up is in the cheap BT receiver), bring a CD player in optical (its just a fancy transport now) and the phono stage seems very good. I use a laptop for streaming with the USB in. Nifty.  It has a summed mono channel out (for a subwoofer, but can be run full frequency) and I have a Heresy playing quietly in the middle and I love it. The outputs to the amps have gain attenuation which is useful with sensitive speakers in allowing the volume knob to have some travel. I am listing features because its sound is certainly good enough that I don't have to question the fidelity. 

 

One thing I particularly like about the Parasound is that I don't think about it at all. When I obsess over my sound (and I most certainly do), I look at cartridges and amps. I leave it powered up for long periods of inattention and don't worry about it. I did a review of it when I bought it years ago (I'll post a link if it still exists) and I haven't really thought about it since. If you are chasing sounds and your ears are better than mine, the Parasound would not be as much fun as tubes. If music is almost always playing in your house, it will provide excellent service and it will serve as a clean audio appliance. 

[ned]

Here is a review of the Parasound I posted a few years ago. It was definitely written during the honeymoon period. I am now in the stable easy years of a long marriage. 

 

 

[jjptkd]

 Finally got everything hooked up and ready to go, have not messed with the built in EQ just loudness button. This DAC / Pre is pretty damn amazing-- easily replaces my TG-IV and Topping DAC for 2-channel stereo sounds excellent (without even being properly dialed in yet) and has all the features I need. I've got a new playlist I'm going fire up here a bit later and really give her a good listening to. 

 

 The seller I bought this from on eBay shipped it out immediately 2-day shipping and it was well packaged. I see now he's offering them for the same price but with a free set of headphones:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165546882409?hash=item268b5cf569:g:hxoAAOSwJj5itdoF

 

 His listings are make offer as well I offered $950 and he accepted, great deal IMO for an excellent unit. Maybe later this weekend I'll pull out my Mic and take some measurements to see where I'm at. My speakers run a bit hot, hoping with the DSP I can flatten them out a bit without the loudness button engaged. I'm still undecided if I'm going to use a tube preamp in front of this or not, going to get used to this DAC and all settings before I do anything else, preliminary thoughts are I won't need one but we'll see. 

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[jjptkd]

Well boredom and curiosity got the best of me although I'm perfectly happy with how things sound now wanted to try out the Schiit Freya + that everyone seems to rave about. It comes stock with new production Tung-Sols but I also ordered a matched quad of NOS GE 6NS7 GTB's. This is the review that got me to finally pull the trigger:

 

 

 

[Schu]

Just this week, I went from this beautiful 6dj8 NBS:

 

 

 

To this wonderful Passive Khozomo (WELL UNDER $1000):

 

 

 

while I am not going to retire the NBS, the difference between the two is rather astounding and eye opening. There exists a big difference between the two.

[pcbiz]

QuickSilver Line Stage Preamp. This is my first tube preamp. A very simple two tube design. The sound is amazing.

http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/rc-line-stage-preamp/

 

 

[jjptkd]

10 minutes ago, pcbiz said:

QuickSilver Line Stage Preamp. This is my first tube preamp. A very simple two tube design. The sound is amazing.

http://quicksilveraudio.com/products/rc-line-stage-preamp/

 

 

 I looked at those at one point, thanks. The Freya showed up yesterday and I got a few hours on her, right out of the box its sounds great. It's interesting how it can simultaneously seem to add details and smooth out the sound. Also added some depth to the soundstage, not by a lot but enough to notice. Thing is dead quiet through my speakers at idle. The NOS GE tubes arrive tomorrow just in time for the weekend, going to spend some time enjoying the music!  

 

 

[Shakeydeal]

Lake Street Dive. Good stuff!

 

 

[VDS]

I love oils want to recommend Aric Audio. He’s a solo builder in MA, great service, great communicator, will work with you to give you options.  I have his Motherload 2, 6sn7 based preamp. Recently I had a Benchmark preamp for comparison. I thought the Benchmark would offer more transparency and quieter.  Aric’s preamp is, to my ears, just as transparent, just as quiet. I really thought the Benchmark would give more transparency and perhaps a better rendition of violins, but Aric’s is just as transparent.   Aric’s is much more dynamic and gives, what I consider, beautiful tube coloration.  

Check-out his website, he has pics of all insides to see. I found out about him 2 years ago and think he is a high quality resource for tube amps/preamps

ted

[Curious_George]

51 minutes ago, VDS said:

I love oils want to recommend Aric Audio. He’s a solo builder in MA, great service, great communicator, will work with you to give you options.  I have his Motherload 2, 6sn7 based preamp. Recently I had a Benchmark preamp for comparison. I thought the Benchmark would offer more transparency and quieter.  Aric’s preamp is, to my ears, just as transparent, just as quiet. I really thought the Benchmark would give more transparency and perhaps a better rendition of violins, but Aric’s is just as transparent.   Aric’s is much more dynamic and gives, what I consider, beautiful tube coloration.  

Check-out his website, he has pics of all insides to see. I found out about him 2 years ago and think he is a high quality resource for tube amps/preamps

ted

I love oils...?

[VDS]

3 minutes ago, Curious_George said:

I love oils...?

I don’t even know what I meant to say! Ha

[jjptkd]

45 minutes ago, Curious_George said:

I love oils...?

 

I was thinking the same thing.. 😄

 

 I looked into Aric Audio they're a bit out of my price range new maybe if something used comes up down the line?  

 

 Honestly I'm actually quite happy with the Freya+ even with the stock JJ tubes, the NOS GE's I have on order got delayed won't be here until Monday really looking forward to giving those a try.

 

 

 

[richieb]

On 9/19/2022 at 3:58 PM, Schu said:

Just this week, I went from this beautiful 6dj8 NBS:

 

 

 

To this wonderful Passive Khozomo (WELL UNDER $1000):

 

 

 

while I am not going to retire the NBS, the difference between the two is rather astounding and eye opening. There exists a big difference between the two.

You left us hanging - what does the passive do that is astounding and eye opening over the NBS? Does the passive have the drive and jump of the active NBS?  I imagine passive  vs. active tubes the passive is quieter, a blacker background?

[VDS]

12 hours ago, richieb said:

You left us hanging - what does the passive do that is astounding and eye opening over the NBS? Does the passive have the drive and jump of the active NBS?  I imagine passive  vs. active tubes the passive is quieter, a blacker background?

Yes, how does the passive compare? I’ve had the NBS, it’s very nice. I don’t think a lot of us have experienced a passive preamp.

[richieb]

2 hours ago, VDS said:

Yes, how does the passive compare? I’ve had the NBS, it’s very nice. I don’t think a lot of us have experienced a passive preamp.

Although I asked the question I have used a couple three passive preamps. No doubt they’re quiet, black but very dependent on system matching. In general they don’t have the drive of an active pre. In general, not a blanket statement. 
I’ve been using the Wyred4Sound STP preamp for several years in which the design combines both passive and active relative to the volume control. Active gradually ramps up with its perceived need relative to the volume input. Well built, resistor ladder volume control combined with huge cap storage provide a ton of drive and solid bass.

[KT88]

4 hours ago, richieb said:

Although I asked the question I have used a couple three passive preamps. No doubt they’re quiet, black but very dependent on system matching. In general they don’t have the drive of an active pre. In general, not a blanket statement. 

For me, that is the core problem. It is of no use to me if everything comes along without additional noise etc. but if the drive is missing. It doesn't matter if it's controlled via resistors or with the help of transformers. What I heard so far was boring compared to active pre amps. Sometimes users are seduced because they only see that the output voltage of their source is higher than what a power amp needs. I have a Quad 306 power amp with 0.35 V input sensitivity. But that says nothing about whether the sound is exciting and musical with an active preamp or just loud enough but floppy with a passive preamp.

[Curious_George]

7 minutes ago, KT88 said:

For me, that is the core problem. It is of no use to me if everything comes along without additional noise etc. but if the drive is missing. It doesn't matter if it's controlled via resistors or with the help of transformers. What I heard so far was boring compared to active pre amps. Sometimes users are seduced because they only see that the output voltage of their source is higher than what a power amp needs. I have a Quad 306 power amp with 0.35 V input sensitivity. But that says nothing about whether the sound is exciting and musical with an active preamp or just loud enough but floppy with a passive preamp.

The biggest factor when using a passive preamp, is the interconnecting cables. They need to be low-capacitance type (not expensive, but LOW CAPACITANCE) or you will get additional high frequency roll-off. You are already going to get some HF roll-off depending on your amplifier input section. 

 

In addition, any output buffer capacity (in other words - low impedance output) that your source unit has will be eliminated by the passive preamp (unless it is a transformer type). 

 

My ears tell me ever type of music needs some type of tone control, so I don't do passives or line stages. 

[jjptkd]

3 minutes ago, Curious_George said:

My ears tell me ever type of music needs some type of tone control, so I don't do passives or line stages. 

 

 That's why I started with the RME DAC it has tone controls, loudness button and DSP built in opening up the possibility to try a lot of different Preamps. The Freya has a passive mode but haven't tried it yet. Waiting on the new tubes which should be here tomorrow going to let them burn in all week then do some serious listening next weekend with some friends.