First tube preamp recommendations (under $5k)

wouldn't go wrong trying a first sound presence.mkIII

@smodtactical
You’re new to tubes. I respectfully suggest you avoid vintage gear, no matter what upgrades or "restoration" have been done. I’m a veteran in the world of vintage tube gear and have FINALLY had enough. Over the years, I’ve upgraded and done a lot of periodic maintenance. It’s very costly. The final proverbial straw: One of my mono amps blew up a few days ago. Done.

One other thing, the Wells Commander is a hybrid, not pure tube preamp. It does sound very good, but it is a boutique item, so the resale value will certainly be impacted downward.

Full disclosure, I'm now considering many options, including Black Ice, which could be a heck of a lot for the money.

Good luck.

You can get a used Allnic L-3000 for about 4 grand. Dual mono, tube regulated, low impedance stepped attenuator, transformer coupled and puts a flat 150 ohms from 15hz to 30khz.

Amazing preamp.

Hello!
if you want to go for a low budget but good sounding go for the QUAD Twentyfour Pré Amp.

if money is not an issue go for the VTL 5.5 or 6.5

Browsing this thread with no thought of spending such money? You might be interested in this " Buyer's report: Xiangsheng 728A tube pre-amplifier " that I had posted on another forum.

Guys I have an EVO400 that came up locally... $4200 CAD
Also dealer selling ARC Ref 5 (consignment) $6900 CAD
Thoughts?

Seriously a REF5 for $6,900CAD? I’d jump on that without a second thought.

@ghdprentice really eh?
Another option is Aric audio. Mother load 2 or special 6sn7. Looks to be well made.

It would be worth your time to give a call to Aric.

I am very happy using a earlier version of his Special 6SN7 driving a Pass XA25. I understand the Mother Load to be outstanding. It is not in my price bracket however.

@mesch ya I had a long talk with Aric. He is an awesome guy. What I don't know is if ML2 will be competitive or better than stuff like a used VAC Ren V or ARC Ref 5.

What I don't know is if ML2 will be competitive or better than stuff like a used VAC Ren V or ARC Ref 5.


Some of the hand built tube equipment from small companies doesn't only compete with the big name brand equipment it surpasses in many instances at more reasonable prices.

What I don’t know is if ML2 will be competitive or better than stuff like a used VAC Ren V or ARC Ref 5.

1.  no one here in this conversation is a rookie... there is really only one way to really find out ...

2.  in this stratosphere of linestages, NONE are poor, it is a matter of what works for the specific user, his tastes, his desire for certain features etc etc

I wish someone compared them though. Would make it easier to jump in.

Lots and lots of solid recommendations here. I don’t disagree with any of them.

However, I suggest you take your browser to the top the "amps-preamps" section and click on the "Popular all-time" tab. At the very top of that tab you’ll find the "Preamp deal of the century" thread. Over 26 million page views. It spans two decades. It is all about Supratek preamps, hand made in Australia. The "entry-level" Supratek preamp is well within your budget. These are very highly regarded preamps. Hand built. Point-to-point wiring. LIFETIME GUARANTEE.

Oh, one more thing. There are a few posts on this thread that are critical of the 6SN7 tube as being "iffy" in quality and reliability. I respectfully disagree. The Suprateks are supplied with readily available tubes that are very reliable and last, like, forever. There are a lot of good 6SN7 tubes out there and there's a reason they're used a lot in preamps. They sound great. And there are good ones currently in production. Psvane, Linlai, for instance.

As a tube lover I would advise you to avoid preamps with 12ax7 or 12au7. Too much gain on the 12ax7 for a preamp, and 12au7 isn’t a great sounding tube in any role (but tends to be used a LOT in audio, unfortunately). 6SN7, 6922/6DJ8, 6H30 - these can be great preamp tubes. Even 5687 can be cool. Also I’ve not been a fan of the hybrid tube/SS preamps so far. Choose one or the other!

5k trouble free happy listening hours on my REF5se but as others have said, at this level, they are all pretty fine…

Jump in, enjoy the journey and the music….

McIntosh C22 if you’re into the retro looks. C2700 if you want the last tube preamp you’d ever need. 

Read 1 guy preferring motherlode 2 to his Pass XP22. Thats pretty impressive.
I think @teajay also liked ML2 over his microzotl.

But so far have not seen anyone compare ML2 to VAC or ARC. I wonder.

Has anyone compared LTA MicroZOTL vs LS28, ref5se or VAC Renaissance V ?

In my opinion the preamp is a good place to start as far as introducing tubes. I would consider a Backert Labs Rumba which can be purchased new under your stated goal of $5k.

@scottya118 Thanks I am looking at the backert.
Right now though im leaning heavily to Aric audio's motherlode 2. He seems to have unanimous praise. One guy on audiogon actually preferred it over his  Pass XP22.

Second the First Sound recommendation if you can go single ended.

Stay away from Rogue Audio Go with the Cary  you can't go wrong some old rca and mullards. Oh yeah

@pointtrucking whats wrong with rogue ?

So my wife actually bought the ref5 that my dealer has on consignment ($6900 CAD all in). Tomorrow I will talk to the dealer to finalize pickup. She was tired of my waffling and just made the decision. But I am concerned that its not a very good price for the ref5 and that the ref 5se is a pretty big step up from what I read (and can be had used for not much more). So should I cancel and wait for a better deal?

wife bought it, yet still waffling ... 😞😞😞

LOL I am just terrible man :(

a. nervosa has set in.

Just count yourself lucky.  VERY lucky.

Guys so I ended up buying a used ARC Ref 5SE. I found it for the same price as my local dealer was offering for the ref5.
Gonna have it sent to ARC to check over and ensure in good condition and then they will ship to me.
Thanks for all your help!!! Hopefully will work well. Fingers crossed.

The ARC REF 5Se is an outstanding preamp. It was the center of my system for at least five years. Don’t second guess this decision, it is a world class preamp. It would be a worthy component to keep indefinitely. Last year I did a major system upgrade… at that point I had spent so much money, I just said I might as well upgrade the preamp, so I swapped it for the ARC REF 6se. It is better, but it is or of the same class of preamp. It is $17,000 USD. So, enjoy your purchase. Thank your wife for pushing. I have a friend who dithers… he is 70 and has a few world class components and a couple he just couldn’t commit to upgrade… his system sounds terrible… like Sears components… Enjoy, you only live once… live well.

@ghdprentice Thank you for your sage and kind comments man. It makes me feel good that I made the right decision. I really look forward to my first experience with tubes :D
What does the rest of your system look like ?

Here are my systems.
https://systems.audiogon.com/users/ghdprentice

Enjoy!

great pick in the REF5se ! A superb pre.

I have 5k trouble free happy hours on mine. Pay attention to the Power Supply tube hours and upgrade to a nos USA made Tung Sol when you need to change.

The ARC massive as it is, likes vibration isolation, I use HRS under mine.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/3803

@ghdprentice love the dog !

@tomic601 thanks man ! Appreciate the tips
@ghdprentice beautiful systems! Truly end game

primaluna evo all the way

ARC 5SE seems like a solid choice. And good on your wife to get the ball rolling, though you were also right to bump it up to the SE! Sometimes we audiophiles truly torture ourselves with endless internal debates & second guessing, resulting in decision paralysis. Enjoy!

Thanks, I love my dogs too… and my system in that order.

@mirage-71 Which EVO model do you have and what other tube preamps did you compare to ?

@mulveling Thanks man. I think it was between the Ren V and this older ARC and I thought about your comparisons and what you said about this. I think maybe I would have loved the VAC sound but pricing wise it didn't work out since it has a phono board that i would never use and didn't make sense to pay for. I have heard lots of good things about 5SE so hopefully will be great.
@ghdprentice  :D

I do hope the ARC will sound richer and more musical than my AGD HE9 SS preamp. :)

ARC equipment is very accurate with an excellent midrange through bass (think non-colored warmth), but is not artificially warm. So it will sound detailed but not hard and cold. It also has outstanding rhythm and pace… musicalness. Rythm and pace is hard to put your finger on, but can be one of the most important attributes of a system… making you unconsciously tap your foot. It is what conveys the emotional content. ARC / tube equipment generally do a better job of this than most solid state equipment.

It couples exceptionally well with a Pass 350… which I used for well over a decade. If the ARC preamp doesn’t have quiet enough warmth for you, then make your next swap the Pass for an ARC amp… the more ARC the more better… when the whole chain is ARC it is incredibly magical.

I am using the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Preamp. $2199. My amplifiers are solid state so the 8 tubes that the Primaluna provides gives me the fuller sound that solid state pre-amps cannot create - at least at this price point. I will admit that the first 50 hours or so were a bit dull and "veiled". It simply took a fair amount of time for the preamp to open up.  

I debated between the PrimaLuna and the Rogue RP-7, but felt the RP-7 may not give me enough of the tube experience as it only uses 2 tubes. The remote control is excellent but the RP-7 provides a number (ie gauge) to your volume and the PrimaLuna does not. I downloaded a free decibel meter to my phone and that solved the issue. I now know when the volume knob is above a certain point it is probably too loud. 

Another reason I like it beside the sound is that the PrimaLuna does not get hot and only gets "warm at best". Even after 5 or 6 hours of play. Both my solid state amps stay fairly cool as well so it fits right in with my prerequisite of not heating up my room as I listen.

@ghdprentice could not agree more on the priority system, Dogs first !

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7106#&gid=1&pid=11

@tomic601
.

Sweet doggy. We had a pair of black labs a long time ago… loved them very much. You have a house full of beautiful systems as well. I had Apogee’s for many years.

I'm gonna throw in on the EVO400 as well.  Been running mine now for about a year.  What a fantastic piece of gear.  (I have it paired with an MC-312).

I "tried" to buy a 2600 from a dealer in the area (gently used) and when I told him my setup... he suggested: "Go do some homework on Prima... and ignore the loud guy on the videos".  <giggle>

Found that Sandy Gross himself had used one with a Mac amp to do some demos of some gear at an Axpona.  Mind you i'm not a six-figure spender for gear... but all my stuff sits right about $4000 a piece... a perfect fit.

@ghdprentice thank you, will consider that once I get the unit in

Hey Dmcneilr,

 

Is the Audio gd vacuum He-1 as holographic as they say in the reviews?

Given your price point I'll echo the Cary SLP-98

@kw6.........I have the Audio-gd 10 tube Vacuum HE and it IS Holographic...for 4K ...nothing I’ve experienced can touch it. It’s a monster though..Buy One.  Matches nicely w/ Peachtree GAN 400 amp.