$18k Tube preamp for large scale symphonies please


hi, can anyone suggest tube preamp that's good for handling complex music & large scale symphonies recordings in studio/ theatres? i had audition some: Aesthetix, CJ ,Modwright, Audio Note, ARC but all seems lacking in some ways and definitely not enough air at top octaves and instruments separation/ spaciousness. all dealer agrees that some pre is good at certain genre of music and sound Great even more if music is relatively SIMPLE like vocal, jazz, light acoustic, slow rock and maybe pop songs. Yes i know personal taste varies as well: bass strength & high freq. extension etc. & gears matching too. could anyone share their expreience so i can narrow down a list? my music typically: Van Hellsing & Princess Mononoke movie soundtrack. hope dealers provide constructive comments. Thanks All in advance. -phil
philipwu
Atmasphere, why don't you bring 3 different balanced interconnects to CES and let us see if you can hear differences. This can be done after hours.
Philipwu,

I was in your position shopping for a preamp. I demoed pre (Einstein, Shindo Vosne-Romanee, Doshi ...) for months, in most cases it was in unfamiliar systems and they all sounded excellent. I could live with any of them and finally settled on a VAC SigMKIIa.

The sound you desire can be achieved through tube rolling with a GOOD preamp. The VAC SigMKIIa is very sensitive to tube rolling. With stock tubes, sound is soft, round, a bit veiled ... IN GENERAL, if you want transparency, open, dynamics ... use German tubes. Full body, sweet ... British tubes and a combo of both, Amperex, Philip Hollland. I use German tubes and also upgrading the fuse will improve the sound dramatically.

I suggest purchase a pre with EASY tube rolling options and dial in the sound you desire. Another good pre is Atma MP-1. I never demo but recommened to me by trusted ears. 6sn7 based so easy to roll.

If you plan to use your pre with many different amps, get one with low output impedance. From my experience, the ability for a pre to drive an amp properly is most important for excellent complete sound.
hi Knghifi,
Thanks,your comments are very informative. could you describe your impression of Doshi if you can recall,what is its strength? any comparison would even be better, even if it is in a different system. just curious why many hail Doshi as supreme. i know individual taste varies hence your decision on VAC Sig.
BTW, you heard Dude before? your inputs are appreciated.
Regards.
Philipwu, I will try and help you hear the sound of the Dude (latest generation) with my words. The Dude is a full bodied, dynamic beast of audio. The stage is big, bold and effortless. The music is powerful, robust and never constrained.

In it's latest generation the Dude is richly resolving bringing out all of music's finer details and nuances. It seems to handle and pull off two things that are very hard to do at the same time.

1) Clear window to the music with SOTA resolving ability.
2) But the Dude is not light or overly airy. It is full bodied and the Dude portrays music with the meat, body and density I hear in the natural instrument and voice.

Tube choice is also important with any of these preamps. The Dude responds very well to tube rolling. Place Marconi 6sn7 tubes and you fatten the sound with a slightly warm personality. Use nice 1940 RCA's and the Dude is more resolving and intimate.

The bass is absolutely stunning in power and articulation. A real strength in this preamp.

Great thread with many great preamp choices. Life is a blessing!

Merry Christmass to all!