I have used a SP2-B with several amps including Belles and Marsh and it was always very quiet. If both amp and preamp are working correctly you should not here any noise. Maybe a bad tube?
if you're referring to tube rush, then you might hasve a bad tube...i had an sp-2b and one of the tubes went bad...everytime i turned it on or switched inputs the rush would come at me (sounds like a fading psh! noise). not to mention the noise floor increased because of the bad tube. i would try putting different or new tubes in and see what happens.
Had a SP2 Pre-amp with a Musical Design 140i amp. The pre-amp made my amp hum loudly!!Figure that. John Hillig couldn't fix the problem even though he replaced the amp's transformer. I changed amps and quiet ocurred. Got rid of the SP2 and never looked back!!
I sent my SP-2B back to John Hillig for the tube upgrade and after I got it back it made a horrible buzzing noise. I sent it back and John gave me a bunch of lip service acting like a jerk and denying it was the preamps fault.
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