the tough question: Which preamplifier? and why

i too am looking for a preamp, but i do not like the ultraverve. i had the opportunity to purchase it and auditioned it for a while. it doesn't sound like a tube preamp.

my choices are:

audionote kits l2, audiovalve eklipse, cary slp98 with audionote upgrade caps and art audio 1.

yes these choices are subjective, but the comments re synergy i think have no basis in fact. listen to them and decide whether there is synergy. don't rely on opinions, especially from biased audio dealers.

hi tvad:

is my quartet of preamp choices amusing, or my dictum, "don't rely on opinions" ?

are you suggesting i pay attention to opinions or that my opinion, like those of others should be ignored ?

perhaps, you see the paradox in the statement "don't rely on opinions", which itself is an opinion.

I have found that the LEAST predictable interaction is between preamp/linestage and an amplifier. A lot of times, a combination that I think will work well does not do so at all. This is a must experiment situation.

Tube preamp/linestages, in particular, seem unpredictable. When the combination is bad, the sound will often be lifeless, bloated in midbass and murky. The opposite is also true -- when things work out there is a kind of hard to explain "magic" that is much more difficult to obtain with solidstate gear.

If you can find dealers that will work with you, I suggest that you work out home trial. The dealers I work with will allow home trial of electronics. If you are buying the Placette new, you have a home trial period.

I think you have made a reasonable list for a start -- one solid state, one passive and one tube unit. However, one should not, based on these particular models, rule out a particular type -- synergy with a particular model is a BIG factor.

Mrtennis if you thought the UV didn't sound like a tube preamp, then you will probably love the Cary. I say this because it is the typical (what people think of) tube sound. Warm and lush, but not resolving or detailed. I owned the UV2 and thought it had just enough tube goodness, but with resolution and dynamics the Cary can't muster.

That being said, I now own the Sonic Euphoria PLC which is better than either. And I would highly recommend it to the OP or anyone else who has a passive friendly system.

Shakey