I find the AI III to be underrated, even though it is considered to be an overachiever for its price. Of course, tube matching is important as well as overall system synergy, but I find that in several systems where I have heard it, it didn't suffer to a very significant degree to some highly regarded and some very expensive preamps. Dynamics and bass were outstanding. Neutrality was excellent. I find the AI to be neither bright nor dull. It lacked a little of the sweetness and air around instruments, but you could do a lot worse and spend a lot more money, even $10K. I am happy to spend as little as possible, where possible, for equipment and keep the difference in my pocket instead of someone else's. I never judge equipment by what it costs. Generally, I have not found cost to correlate all that well with the sound quality.
Tube Preamps under $10k with deep bass extension
I'm still goofing around looking for a good tube preamp. I'd like to hear from those who have auditioned some tube preamps on systems capable of 20hz. I auditioned a hovland HP 100 that had fantastic midrange but seemed to be missing a little bit of the lower octave. I'm new to the tube preamp arena and am unaware of which ones can make 20hz and which cannot. I've had some good responses to previous posts which have got me interested in Supratek, McIntosh, and CAT preamps. I also noticed some tube ringing at higher levels. Is this something I should expect or not?
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- 28 posts total
- 28 posts total