Seeking suggestions for Preamp

Hi Madfloyd,

I haven't heard the Doshi Alaap so I am not sure what type of sound you are going for. You might put the Cary SLP-05 on your list if you want to stay with tubes. I was auditioning an ARC LS-26 in my system with my Pass amp, and I didn't like it either. It had less body and more glare in the upper midrange than my solid state preamp. However, my buddy brought over a Cary and it mated very nicely with the Pass. Comparative to good solid state it sounded slightly colored, but not at all in a bad way.

A word of warning if you try the XP-20; if it is anything like the XP-10 it will sound withdrawn with no extension out of the box. It becomes a very different preamp as it warms up. Mine took about a week to really open up (judging by direct comparison to my existing preamp). It is very quiet when run balanced into a Pass amp. It is also proving to have excellent body for a solid state preamp. Haven't heard the XP-20 though.

Good luck,
Alan

For something different, might I suggest a passive pre? You never know, you might like it. Sonic Euphoria does it for me!

Regards,
Dan

I am second for Cary SLP-05 - I think it is exactly what you are looking for. I do not like ARC either, but SLP-05 with NOS tubes in my system sounds exactly as you describes - "something romantic and a bit bloomy, but NOT noisy and very extended".
Good luck.
Boris.

Audio Horizons with NOS tubes, very quiet and extended in dynamic range and frequency. 30 day trial but quite good out of the box and gets better. Terrific service and upgrade path. Has balanced outputs.
Those are great Pass amps - enjoy
Joe

Joule Marianne Electra (LA-300).