Are passive preamps better?

OK. Got all that. I can send the Endlers back too for 30 days. Yes, linestage--much better. My amp and source is not meeting ET's criteria for the passive linestage. Not looking good. It sounded so good cold. The clarity was sort of a jaw-dropper. Tubes, huh? That's a pretty convincing testimony. Tubes look cool. There could be no cover on my tubes. Lynne

The Audio Research LS-7 linestage preamp must be an old dog, huh? They're asking around $650 including shipping. I guess you get what you pay for. Lynne

The ARC LS-7 listed for $1395 when introduced in 1995, so that price seems to fall in line with used older gear. Some of ARC's older gear has higher resale value, like the SP-10 or SP-11. These sell for almost $2K and are over 20 years old.

Cheers,
John

I would look for a used Audible Illusions 3A at the $1000 price point - 4-6 years old. But before you go the tube pre route, if you choose to, you need to find out what the input impedance of the HK amp is, to be sure that the tube pre will drive adequately, should not be a problem for most pres, but it will depend on that spec to some extent.

Don't assume that you need a tube preamp to give you "warm" liquid sound. I have found that with the right amp and speakers, an all solid state configuration can provide the same "tube magic" and depth of field (plus all the other usual hi fi sound descriptors) tubes are famous for. Tube magic for me has, so far, been a fairly elusive animal...