2. amps-preamps
  3. 192678-195555

Vacuum Tube Preamp for Solid State Power Amp Pairing

I’ve recently discovered the world of vacuum tubes and recently purchased a Willsenton R8 which I’m enjoying very much.

I also have a solid state Chord Electronics SPM 1050mkii power amp (200w into 8ohms) and am now curious what sound I could achieve by the marriage of a tube preamp paired with my beefy solid state power amp.

As I’m a tube newbie I figured it would be sensible to lean on the considerable experience of the Audiogon community and plunder some recommendations.

 I like the look of the PS Audio BHK signature Pre (preowned) but it’s pushing my budget, although if you guys think it’s a winner I can save a few more buttons..! Also I’m aware of the Shiit Freya + which seems well reviewed and appears to be a good value proposition, but apart from these 2, I’m not really sure what else is out there…

So, over to you guys to work your magic, recommendations please!

Budget is circa £2-£3k and MUST have a remote control! :)

terenthia
trivema's avatar
trivema
98 posts
 

Audio Research SP-3-1A. Classic!

bondmanp
1,818 posts
 

I might get attacked for this, but I am very happy with my McIntosh C220 tube (actually a hybrid design) preamp paired with my Arion Audio S500 class D amplifier.  McIntosh has its fans and it's detractors, but I love the thing.  One great quality of McIntosh tube preamps is that the outputs are good for long cable runs.  This allowed me to keep the amp closer to the speakers with shorter speaker cable runs.  Not all tube preamps will work well with long output cable runs.  To me, I get just enough tube warmth to mate with my clean and neutral ss amp.  No longer in production, used C220 preamps are widely available.  Check out Audio Classics.

pfeiffer
54 posts
 

Spatial Audio Labs "Raven" preamp. Really good!

dmbaudio's avatar
dmbaudio
5 posts
 

I have a BAT VK 52 SE tube pre amp and Elecrtocomponiet AW180 solid state mono blocks and they pair wonderfully. I'm considering class D (GAN) mono blocks at some point.

bimmerlover's avatar
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bimmerlover
49 posts
 

I would look at the PrimaLuna series of tube preamps. They are PrimaLuna EVO 100, EVO 200, EVO 300, and EVO 400.

(Make sure you look at the preamps and not the integrated models, as the naming is similar.)

They are built like tanks, sound very good/great value, and they are - if/when you get to that point - easy to tube roll with.

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