2. amps-preamps
  3. 123612-9095

Preamp... Solid State or Tube

I am looking for 2-ch preamp that must have HT bypass option to mate with my existing HT processor.  

My budget is 10K for this upgrade.  Couple of preamps comes to mind but I have no experience with these components.  

Ayre KX-5 Twenty
Aesthetix Calypso 
 
My system consist of following components, 

Speakers - B&W 800D2
Source - Aurender N10,  Modwright Elyse DAC, Raysonic CD-128
Amps - Modwright KWA150SE (Pair of them being used in bridge mode)
Processor - Krell 707
Cables - Verastarr Grand Illusion Statement and Signature series

Any recommendations will be highly appreciated. 

128x128lalitk
dodgealum's avatar
dodgealum
1,406 posts
 

Almarg:

Thank you for providing such a detailed and lucid response. This is why I love the A'gon! My enjoyment of music and audio go back 40 years but I've not schooled myself in the technical aspects of this hobby. There are so many folks on here that have so much knowledge and wisdom to contribute and I'm grateful.

tfl303's avatar
tfl303
83 posts
 
Vac will work great!!!
deepee99's avatar
deepee99
86 posts
 
Impedance matching is a no-brainer. It's (at least in the case of tube preamps) the values of the output capacitors. 50k is way too low for tube amps, which run in the mid- 250k-ohm range. Fifty should do you fine for a s/s amp. Coupla solder connections and you're good to go, and probably upgrade the caps that are in the retail pre-amp as well. Murndorf silver-oil or gold-oil are the best.
tunes409's avatar
tunes409
20 posts
 
After 45 years as a stereophile there are only a handful of preamps on my short list. And at the top of the list is Ken Stevens CAT SL1. His all tube with outboard power supply has the features you are looking for and be had 7995 line stage only or 9995 with an incredible phono section. I hope this helps!


roncagg
61 posts
 
The Manley Shrimp and Jumbo Shrimp are nice tube preamps with very low output impedance and reasonable (11.8db) gain. I have a Shrimp driving my new Firstwatt F7 which has 10kohm input impedance, quite low so my tube preamp options were limited, especially for the budget ($1k used) I had in mind. 
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