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Tube-Curious/Pre-amp

Hi guys

I've been toying with the idea of tubes for a while, and was wondering if a tube pre-amp would be worthwhile pairing with my Class A/B integrated - Atoll IN200 Signature (the Atoll has the function to bypass its own internal pre-amp section, and pair the power section with an external pre-amp).

I predominantly listen to Jazz (all eras, all flavours) and am very interested to hear what tubes would bring me; I've casually read around, and the description of sound from reviewers and regular users does appeal to me greatly. 

I am aware of the Schiit Freya +, and from what I can make out, with some tube swapping, the Freya can produce some good results; but apart from this I'm not really sure what I should be looking at. I'm not looking to spend multiple thousands on this little side interest, or replace my Atoll./Solid State, but to just give myself an exposure to tubes in my audio chain. 

The other option I suppose, is to look at the offerings from Willsenton as an additional integrated, such as the R300 (this seems to be well received, and at a  reasonable price tag). 

Any advice/guidance gratefully received

Thanks very much 👍

 

 

128x128painter24
knotscott
931 posts
 

A good tube preamp is a nice start to the world of vacuum tube sound, but feeding it into a a good tube amp will give you the whole tube experience. Not only do tubes potentially sound clearer to me than SS, but they also offer the opportunity to fine tune the sound by rolling the tubes to tailor it to your liking.

The Audible Illusions and Melos are both excellent vintage examples of lower cost entry level tube preamps that offered a convincing taste of the really good stuff. Some recapping may be in order if not previously done.

The Willsenton amps enjoy a fairly large happy following.  There's an entire Facebook group dedicated to those amps.

 

 

jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

agree that don sachs unit is closest one will get to very pricey, truly top tier tube linestage performance at a reasonable price (about 2500 used)

otherwise, i always tell folks buy the best c-j (single ended) or audio research reference linestage (balanced) that you can afford

bigkidz
3,387 posts
 

The recommendations above are average quality preamps.  The older Counterpoint preamps are much better and they can be upgraded to almost reference level.  The Melos is a nice sounding preamp but they have reliability issues are very few of us repair them any more.

 

Happy Listening.

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 

@painter24 I predominantly listen to Jazz (all eras, all flavours) and am very interested to hear what tubes would bring me; I’ve casually read around, and the description of sound from reviewers and regular users does appeal to me greatly

Given this statement I’d strongly encourage you to go full bore and get a Willsenton tube integrated amplifier. The Triangle speakers are generally said to be tube amplifier friendly and easily driven.

I don’t know if their 300b SET would be suitable (Depends on several variables). They do have push-pull amplifiers that I believe would pair well with your speakers. Your jazz musicians will come to life via their recordings . This is a good path to take.A tube preamplifier is fine but a half step in my opinion if you are seeking the full tube experience.

Charles

charles7
109 posts
 

Yes, a tube pre-amp paired to a solid state power amp is the best way to use tubes. Tube power amps that get it right are expensive, and maintaining a power tube complement can be a pain, to your wallet among other things.

My Van Alstine Transcendence RB10 preamp feeds a FirstWatt F8. The sound is both uncolored one way or the other and also musical.

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