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Seriously considering tube preamp…opinions?

Tube virgin, here. I am building a system and I'm trying to contain the preamp/amp cost to $3k or so. (I could go up a little.) 

I'm inclined not to dive into tubes all the way through, but get a solid state on the output end. (Open to suggestions; inclined toward PS Audio, Parasound.) I'm reading around about tube preamps and have talked with my local dealer, who sells Black Ice/Jolida and Prima Luna (PL). He used to carry Rogue but said they kept coming back for repairs. That's why he carries PL.

I'm asking these questions after having established (via reviews, comments) that Schiit gear is quite the value. Lately, I've been reading about Decware and other small tube makers. I'm very curious about buying direct, if possible, and a company that stands behind their products is crucial.

So, your opinions about tube integrated or *especially* tube preamps —

1. Who do you like? Consider I want to do pre/amp for a total of $3k if possible.

2. Do you think PL is worth all that money just for a preamp? I get the feeling they're high quality but a bit over-hyped. (No disrespect to the highly passionate Kevin Deal, but he's all over my search results.) And what would you think about $2k/$1k preamp-to-amp spending ratio?

3. Any sense of what happened to Jolida since the name change to "Black Ice"? I see there's a sordid story there but did the re-branding clear up the mess? Any experiences with the Black Ice company?

4. I know there are many Schiit fans out there; so my question would be -- did anyone consider Schiit for tube preamp and go another way? Or move beyond Schiit for any particular reason? It's hard not to just capitulate and do a Freya+ or Saga+ but why wouldn't one just go with Schiit?




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markusthenaimnut's avatar
markusthenaimnut
371 posts
 
Allow me to disagree with those who recommend a solid state preamp. I think I’ve already suggested this , if not in this thread then and many many others . Read the Roger Sanders white paper on Solid State vs. Tubes. His website is Sanders sound systems.

Very good solid state amplifiers will sound a lot like very good tube power amplifiers as long as they are operated without clipping.

I believe that the preamplifier is the place to put the tubes. And get the best one you can afford.
wolf_garcia
6,703 posts
 
Even good SS amps don't sound anything like tubes really, try as they might. Especially when compared to single ended tube amps. Nelson Pass might come close, and the effort he puts into getting things to sound like tubes makes me wish he'd just make a tube amp.
kray's avatar
kray
229 posts
 
I agree with @wolf_garcia 

ive had and experienced several solid state amps in the $2k-$5k range and none of them came close to sounding like my Line Magnetic 518 SET. Believe me I’ve tried to go solid state but there’s always something missing vs my SET tube amps. Just my opinion based on the sound I prefer. 
decooney
2,021 posts
 
It's hard to go back to SS after quality tube gear.   
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
To me tube gear gives a great sense of tactility space and humanity to the sound. More natural more relaxed more spacious. But usually at the expense of some background noise, ultimate bass control and very high volumes. Obviously uber expensive tube systems minimize the negatives, while accentuating the positives.

Depending on the kind of music one listens to, the tradeoff may or may not be worth it.

But for vocal, classical, jazz music, music that is more old school, i.e. created with less electronica/mixing overlays and played at more natural (unamplified) instrument volumes, the tradeoffs are much worth it to go for tubes.
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