What qualities stand out in really good solid state preamps?

 

hilde45 OP

I haven’t been in an audio showroom for many, many years, know nothing about current equipment, which is why I talk about features, advantages of .... and specifically mention only equipment I have owned or close friends have owned. Thus I sound like a broken record, mocking bird repeating ....

I never fully trusted showroom or audio show imperfect comparisons back in the day except to get a general sense of things, what to risk some money on.

Audio shop in Brooklyn Heights, late 60’s, did the best, they rolled each speaker from big room down the hall into the listening room (no cones of other speakers in the room), comparisons by memory, but outstanding/involving was instantly obvious.

TUBES

I have inherited/owned and like Vintage tube preamps and amps, and hear differences, but usually they are using different tubes somewhere, so not true/direct comparisons. I test my own tubes, test friends tubes, give friends tubes from my collection of new/mostly used pulls that test good, never a direct comparison. I buy quad matched, test them when received, then after a while truly matched? I check everything annually just before thanksgiving.

Fisher 80 az tube mono blocks (used a few different tube types) EL37’s originally.

Fisher Receivers, 500C (3) and 800c (500c with am tuner added)

Cayin A88T (current in main system) (had to sound as good as my Fisher 80az mono blocks). They do, and I changed 6550s to KT88s, prefer them. Had Steve at VAS re-bias them (A88T m1 needed for 16 ohm taps for Vintage 16 ohm speakers. m1 bias adjustment is internal)

I use a Little Luxman 10 wpc tube integrated in my office, never compared to anything, sounds great driving my restored Vintage AR-2ax speakers. Sources: Vintage TT; Vintage R2R; Modern PC/usb out/DAC.

My friends mostly have tube equipment, in their systems, several things especially speakers and the room make differences.

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SS

I was given a McIntosh SS mc2250. Picked up and took straight to Harvey's 45th street, NYC (McIntosh Lab Day, I had made an appointment). McIntosh tested, said ’unusual specimen, accurate to 305 wpc’, 1 led out, mailed it to me, I changed it. Drove JSE Infinite Slope Model 2’s with it for years.It was designed to ’do nothing’, and that’s exactly what it did to my ears. It was the speakers that were outstanding.

At that time I compared 3 amps with 3 sets of color coded speaker wires (all home made cat 5), with WBT locking Bananas for myself and friends.

Fisher 500c tube receiver; Fisher 80az mono blocks; McIntosh SS2250, all thru the very revealing JSE’s

I also had the same content: CD; LP; 4 track Reel to Reel, pre-recorded.

EVERYONE picked LP over CD, and R2R over LP.

EVERYONE picked Tubes over SS, mono blocks generally, not always preferred to 500c receiver.

I had/have zero hum, however it wasn’t always a perfect volume match, that influences things as you know.

Yamaha SS CR-1020 Receiver for Garage/Shop system. It sounds darn good, now driving my other pair of restored AR-2ax speakers in the garage, a variety of small speakers in the shop..

It replaced prior Tandberg SS TR-1080, which I think had the most unique SS sound of any SS I have owned, wonderful sound driving a variety of speakers, two sets for garage and shop.

Never directly compared (Tandberg was not functioning, Yamaha is a big heavy beast).

so, no, I have not directly compared SS amps directly.

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Vintage, lacking remote control,

Is why I keep recommending the Chase RLC-1, especially remote volume and remote balance. I use 3 currently

Main: sources to tube preamp; preamp to Chase (volume and balance); Chase to Integrated.

Office: remote power only (Luxman physical power button stays on)

Garage Shop: thru tape loop for in/out comparison, never a difference as has been true for many many years.

• tone - must be natural 
• dynamic range - must be able to sound laid back and gentle but scale up to explosive forces fast, as fast as demanded by the recording 
• low noise floor
• Texture in the bass
• warm and palpable mids
• extended and sweet highs
• nice, non-clicking silent volume control (want to be able to adjust volume without hearing any clicking or other artifacts)
• must image well and create a realistic and colorful soundstage

These are the attributes are what I look for in an amp, except the clicking volume.

I have 2 great preamp volume controls and like the clicking one the best. Though a smooth heavy wheel volume control is luxurious.

BTW - The new SimAudio North Collection seems to have a very advanced remote volume.

Friends bring their tube phono; tube preamp; cartridges to hear on my system they are familiar with, We patch them in: compare to my tube preamp/amp, speakers the same, cables the same except their 1 set of interconnects. Occasionally we use a pair of my interconnects.

Cartridges: my TT81 can play with all 3 tonearms in play with no concern regarding ’drag’. I simply change the input on the SUT and perhaps the PASS for MM, or one of the 4 optional x factors. Also you need to have a sense of where to adjust the Cayin’s volume while on mute (I make temporary pencil marks). Tonearms remain in play so location in the program has not changed.

We hear differences, discuss them, good experience.

Jim brought 3 Beatle albums, both MONO and STEREO versions. We had a good time listening.

1st impression: MONO: you are more involved with the words/song’s lyrics. Stereo next: you are more involved with the sound, imaging, good or bad engineering.

Of course, once you know the words/lyrics, then you enjoy the STEREO version more than 1st listen.

DEFINITELY playing MONO with a true MONO Cartridge is much better than playing Mono with a Stereo cartridge, even if your preamp has a mono mode.

ANY vertical movement, dust, scuffs, dirt in bottom of grooves, slight warps is picked up as noise by the stereo cartridge, then, using preamp’s Mono Mode, that ’noise’ is DOUBLED!

I own an Ayre Acoustics K-5xemp pre-amp and use it in my primary system. I agree with other responses that speak to its virtually inaudible noise level and its exemplary clarity. Having listened to several others, it stands out in those two areas. But as an example of a very neutral preamp, its frequency response is very flat. No emphasis on bass, mid-range or highs. They all come through in a way that makes instruments sound like they’re being played in your room. I listen mostly to acoustic music - classical and jazz. On a well recorded album of acoustic guitar or piano with bass and drums, the sound is lifelike and the imaging is very good. You can spend more, quite a bit more, and get better imaging.

There are a few features that have kept this unit in my system. It has great synergy with my Ayre cd player and Ayre dac. It has two balanced inputs to accommodate those and balanced outputs to my amp. It is said that truly balanced systems are better at rejecting noise. It’s why recording studios and concert venues use balanced equipment and cabling. The K-5 units also have a home theater bypass for those who use their 2-channel systems as part of a home theater setup. The volume control on the K-5 is wonderful, with to me no audible steps as you raise or lower volume, just a smooth progression.

There are also the issues of value and durability. A pre-owned K-5 can be purchased from a reputable dealer or individual at a very attractive price and likely will be noticeably superior to almost anything new at that price. And it can be repaired, if needed, by Ayre - more on that below.

Finally there is the build quality and customer support. Ayre responds to calls and emails. They repair their products for a reasonable charge. And they offer upgrades from time to time that improve their products, again at reasonable cost. The only other manufacturers to which I’ve been exposed that offer comparable service are Bryston, PassLabs and Modwright. I suspect there are others.

I would encourage you to audition the units on your final list, preferably in your home, which is not always easy. The Music Room and several other dealers let you purchase with a return period should you decide you don’t like the unit. That’s the way I prefer to purchase pre-owned. For new gear, if a dealer won’t let me bring it home or return it I wouldn’t do business with them. And with new equipment that hasn’t been burned in, the return right is important.

Good luck!

 

@hilde45 yes I have.
@yyzsantabarbara I just adhered to the scope of the discussion.

On volume controls….one of my first preamps was Hafler IRIS. The remote control had physical knobs for volume and balance. It was the most amazing and coolest thing ever! Smooth opetation, no clicking. The preamp itself was crazy good as well. Especially for the price of about $250 that I paid for it used 😂.

Here’s a pic of it just for kicks…