Neutral preamplifier recommendation $1K new


Must have: Active, remote, two XLR  inputs and XLR output.

Units I’m considering.

Denafrips Hestia

Ladder Bach

Schiit Kara

Topping Pre90

Vincent Audio SA32

Looking for a unit that measures well & has no/little sound of its own. Right now I’m leaning towards the Kara.

mybuddy

Freya+ is not a neutral preamp. It is even warmer than the Class A Schitt Mjolnir v3 that I have now. I owned the Freya+ at one time. 

The Kara may be a very good choice. 
 

The three gain options are great. 

The input impedance is not great. Match wisely  

Having a preamp that uses 10% of the volume dial due to excessive gain can be quite annoying. The Kara is the opposite of that. 

Check out Pro-ject Phono Box DS3 B. I have one as I just entered the balanced world of hifi. It is SS but they do have a tube model.

@wturkey My phono preamp output impedance is 300 ohms so I am concerned. My amplifier will be fine at 147K. One reason why I haven’t the trigger on the Kara. I appreciate the input.


@sschlund I already have a phono preamp. Sorry I should have been more precise. I am looking for a line level only preamplifier.

You might want to check out an Audio Alchemy unit at TMR.  It received many accolades ... Upgraded, external power supply.  Meets budget! Good luck ....

 https://tmraudio.com/components/preamplifiers/audio-alchemy-ddp-1-dac-with-ps-5-6-power-supply-upgrade-d-a-converter/