I found the the threads on the amplifier evolution very intriguing,the speaker evolution thread as well .I am not sure if there is already a thread regarding preamps.Many of us failed to mention their preamps[myself included] in the amplifier thread.After all, it really is an amplifier per say. 1967...Dyna pas 2 from a kit 1974...Dayton wright spa 1975...Mark Levinson JC-2 1976...Audio Research SP-3 1977... Van Alistine mods on Sp-3a,removed tone controls etc 1981...Audio Research Sp-6a 1982... revised to sp-6b 1983...traded back to the Audio Research sp-3a and modded further 1976..Audio Research Sp-10,revised to 10b[still in use] 1990...MFA Luminescence B[still my reference] 1996...ARC sp-8 mk2,Cat SL1 signature MK2 2000...DIY line stage,tube rectified,6sn-7gt's for gain. 2002 to present...Supratek Syrah,
I've had numerous other preamps in the system from time to time while the JP80 was being repaired (Meitner PA6i, VAC Rennaissance, Innersound, Klyne, Lamm L2 and LL2), but somehow I've continued to stick with the Jadis products. The current combination works extraordinarily well together, and on the few records that are cut so low as to require more gain than the Lamm can give, the JP200 has a total of almost 100db gain (including the line stage) to remedy that problem.
1973 Sony 2000F 1975 ARC SP-3A-1 1978 ARC SP-6C, E 1983 ARC SP-11 1986 Vendetta phono w/home built passive 1988 Home built line stage w/fet followers 1998 CTC Blowtorch
Still have the SP3-A-1 and will probably keep it forever......
McCormack Line Drive B&K Pro 10 MC Anthem Pre-1 Audio Research LS3 Pass Aleph L Audible Illusions Modulus 3A BAT VK 3i BAT VK 30 Audible Illusions Modulus 3A JJ Electronics 243 K&K Audio Custom preamp with phono using S&B TX102 for line stage(just got this beauty yesterday after a 3 week wait)
This does not include many preamps I auditioned in my system, some of them even long term, including the following:
Rogue 99 Kora Triode FT Audio LW-1 Reference Line Preeminence 1A Placette RVC Cary V12P (Hot Rod version of SLP-98) Coda 02B
Belles (forget the model number, don't have it anymore), Transcendent GG, ARC LS-15, David Berning microzotl modified to act as a preamp, Eastern Electric Minimax, and (hopefully very soon) Tron COmet. Still have the Transcendent, Berning and Minimax.
1976 - Dynaco PAT-4: a great starter pre-amp (used initially just with a pair of Koss Pro 4AA headphones), but suffered from the "Dynaco hum".
1977 - Phase Linear 4000: one heck of a piece if gear for a college freshman! I scrimped and saved all summer for it....
1981 - Nikko (forget the model #)
1983 - Apt Holman Model One. A great piece of gear, one I wish I still had for old time's sake. Had a unique "fade" control from stereo L/R to Mono.
1985 - PS Audio 4.5, later upgraded to 4.6....still use this to this day as a phono pre-map. The "straight-wire" mode is outstanding. Had an unusually large outboard transformer for a pre-amp; perhaps Paul McGowan's early experimentation with power conditioning!
1998 - Combined 2-ch with Home Theater, briefly used a Rotel pre/pro, then bought the Acurus ACT-3.
2001 - No pre amp for a time; ran my Resolution Audio CD-55 direct to the power amp for critical listening.
2002 - Proceed AVP- a true high end pre/pro at last.
sony integrated amp(when i was young....) adcom 565 preamp audio concept sp-1 tube symphonic line Rg3 MkIII symphonic line RG3MKIII with super power supply.(great stuff), this will last a long time now.....
1. Preamp section of Panasonic Mini-Receiver (found in just about every dentist's office in the early 70s) 2. Preamp section of Pilot 25 wpc integrated solid state amp 3. Preamp section of Yamaha CR620 receiver 4. Nakamichi 620 Tuner/Preamp (Slanted panel with gigantic tuning dial...coolest looking piece of equipment ever) 5. Hafler DH101 kits - several bought, built, modified and sold. 6. conrad-johnson PV3 - bought, built and modified extensively (great sounding unit) 7. conrad-johnson PV2ar 8. Beard P505 - luscious 9. Spectral DMC10delta - wonderful 10. Wright Sound Lab WPL20 - supremo
All have been used primarily for use with phono sources. The last two have been oustanding in this regard. The last is equally facile with digital sources.
Pre section of Pioneer SA-9500-II Yamaha C-4 Rotel 910 ? PS Audio 4.6 with the large ps Adcom GFP-565 Audio Research LS8 Mk 2 Audio Research LS 25 with Amperex NOS tubes
1980 Audible Illusions mini-mite 1982 Audible Illusions (new model of what was really the mini-mite) 1983 Yamaha C2 1984 PS Audio (concurrent with C2 and tubed pres) 1985 Superphon (ditto) 1989 Forte (Great harmonics, detail filter) 1992 Van Alstine Pas 4 1999 Onkyo P-304 (ridiculously good for the money, got it new for $129...MSR was $600) 2000 Threshold NS-10 ($30 at pawn shop, blown power caps. $10.59 to fix. Great pre,especially when put on the lab power-supply.) 2003 Bryston BP25, 1.5 phono (ultra-quiet and better musicality than all the tubes I put it against YMMV. Not the last word in high-freq dynamics.) 2003 Spectral DMC30S (Oh yeah, baby! Dynamics,extention, mids...pretty much everything.) 2003 Using the built-in preamp on the 390S (Awesome with right cables...and nothing else to switch. Will take in other digital sources though.)
For a long time, I've had int amps or tube amps with volume controls and used a small source selector box, so it was more of a straight wire with gain. It's been 10-15 years since I had a preamp in my system and I miss having one :)
Currently using a Tandberg TIA-3012 integrated amp
@lou_setriodes thanks for resurrecting this very old thread! I see i never revisited my 2003 post, which isn’t making me feel old at all! So... bryston b-60 air tight atc-1 edge s-1 signature herron original model blanking on the number. Deja Vu Audio custom tubed preamp my current for the last 12 years.
Dyna PAS-3 Citation 1 Fulton Bravera modified EICO HF 85 with outboard tube regulated power supply Atma-Sphere MP-1 Mk1 (about 1989) and then succeeding MP-1s- on Mk3.3 right now.
For a long time, I've had int amps or tube amps with volume controls and used a small source selector box, so it was more of a straight wire with gain. It's been 10-15 years since I had a preamp in my system and I miss having one :)
Currently using an early Aragon 24K with a B&K ST202 & a GemTune GS-01
Luxman C-120A Acoustat TNP Music Reference RM-5 (classic silver finish) Dyna PAS 2 Music Reference RM-5 mk II (got the RM5 upgraded) Dyna PAS 3 Hegeman Hapi 2 Superphon Revelation Basic Dual Mono Technics SU-9070 Aragon 24K Muse Model One w/huge fully size power supply Museatex AVC-1 db Systems 1a PS Audio IVH Classe DR4
For a long time, I've had int amps or tube amps with volume controls and used a small source selector box, so it was more of a straight wire with gain.
At the current time, I have just moved overseas to Israel & awaiting my gear that will hopefully be here in a couple of months. I’ve gotten the British shoe box sized integrated amp bug and am awaiting a Meridian 551 & a Linn Majik I.
NAD 3400 integrated B&K AVR 307 ModWright SWL 9.0 ModWright LS 36.5 (now in bedroom system) VAC Signature Mk IIa SE (to be traded in for turntable / cartridge combo)
VAC Master line stage
Pass Labs XP-17 phono planned in the next 2 months.
Audiosource preamp1 multiple receivers used as preamps - sansui 9090db - onkyo tx-890 - yamaha - b and K pro 10mc onkyo p308 mccormack ld-2 sanders sound “the preamp”
all in use except the audiosource. That was a great preamp. Wish still had her. Few others throughout the years.
AES3 Bottlehead Foreplay Manley Shrimp SAS Conrad johnson PF2 No preamp, homemade volume control Schiit Freya + Primaluna EVO 100 Conrad johnson Classic 2 SE Still deciding on the last three
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