Preamps: Rogue v. VTL v. Blue Circle

Kck:

You can find a VK5i for about $1700 if your patient. It does add a little colour to the sound, but so does every tube pre out there. But yes the BAT is has the slightest bit more. I was merely going by what you originaly stated in your initial post. I thought the VK5i would work well for you.

As far as the adapters for BAT gear, you will lose a little from your source. But if you don't have a pre ( now )in the same catogrey as the VK5i, you won't know what your missing.

I personally ran nothing but single end gear with the both the VK5i, and the VK3i with excellent results. Also you can buy the necessary adapters that Audio Research manufactures for $25 less per pair. You will still be under your $2000 price point. I see them all the time here at Audiogon for sale used.

You can also follow this thread that just started about XLR-RCA adapters.

VK3i vs Rouge 99? I'm sure the Rouge lovers will argue with me. But I think the VK3i will dance cricles around the 99.

sorry, forgot the thread link:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1068758113&read&3&4&

Kck, I can only comment on the Rogue 99, and will say that this pre is high end audio at a great price new or used. I purchased mine new.

This is my 2nd tubed preamp, so I was always comparing it to the former preamp, and out of the box the Rogue seemed lifeless. After a 100 hours or so of use and replacing the stock tubes, the Magnum 99 is truely a fantastic piece of equipment that should be considered.

I have talked to the owner Mark O'Brien more than a few times and he is always willing to help you. He suggested I try different tubes with the Rogue to compliment the other equiupment in my system. I purchased some NOS from him and they brought out the best for my listening tastes. He was willing to send me different tubes if the NOS were not to my liking. Great customer service.

You mentioned that you see many Rogue 99's for sale on Audiogon and seemed concerned about such. I have looked at the 99 for quite some time and the equiupment that you see for sale is typical of used gear. Cary, ARS, Conrad Johnson, VTL,....you can find them for sale every day but that doesnt mean that one should worry about purchasing them. It would only make sence that more a company sells, could also reflect the used equiupment for sale at any one time. This probally doesnt hold true to the higher priced goods because most people cant afford them so there is few in the consumer market and little to none for sale used.

Good luck and happy listening.

Kek

Stick to the big names for top quality and resale value. I would not buy a piece of tube equipment unless its faceplate has VTL, ARC, CJ or McIntosh on it. 

Try Prima Luna if you get a chance. I had the Prologue and moved up to the Dialogue Premium. They do not come up very often on the used market, which I think is a positive indicator. They use 12au7 tubes which offer a lot of options to tailor the sound without spending a ton of money.