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Tube preamp for techno and other bass-heavy music?

I was wondering what the general opinion is on using a tube preamp (with a solid state amp) for techno and other bass-heavy music. The music I listen to has a decent amount of material in the 20 Hz - 40 Hz range, but also some instrumentals and vocals as well (e.g. ATB is one of my favorite groups).

Are tube preamps reasonably good at handling this kind of music? If so, are there any particular brands I should be looking for (or any to avoid)?
rrolack
rrolack OP
54 posts
 
I'd say my target budget is around $1500, and I definitely want to stay below $2k.

For me, part of the experience with this kind of music is being able to feel the music, which you can definitely do with SS equipment even if your system isn't running hot in the low end of the frequency domain. If I can't get this from a tubed preamp in my price range, I'll have to go with SS.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I would look for a used BAT preamp. I've heard many different tube preamps and IMHO BAT offers not just the best bass performance in a tube preamp, but one of the best bass performaces from any type of preamp period, tube or solid state. You should be able to get a VK-3iX in your price range.

Cheers,
John
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
Your question is of interest to me as well.
moemoney's avatar
moemoney
158 posts
 
I 2nd the BAT.
jafox
1,456 posts
 
From my experience with BAT, Aesthetix and CAT line stages, the CAT really excels at the frequency extremes. Incredible bass extension and authority.
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