Comments on Blue Circle Tube Preamps

Hello Big,

I have a Blue Circle 21.1 tube preamp with upgraded Amperex E88CC tubes (Valvos)and I love it in my system. I have an Anthem MCA 20 amp (ss with 200 wpc @ 8 ohms) and the synergy is good. However, I'll be upgrading my amp to the Odyssey Stratos Extreme soon. I now have Magnepan 1.6QR's that will benefit from the additional current of the Odyssey as well. The BC piece added a nice bloom to the music that I believe tames alot of the solid state "glare". It's built like a tank too. It does have a fair amount of gain (28db I think) so careful amp matching is a must.

I've gone right up the line from the BC21 to the AG8000. Literally, I have either owned or test driven everything in between. These preamps cannot be bested by anything at their given price point. BC preamps are just slightly to the warm side of neutral (some are more this way than others - depends on the model). Very good with timbral accuracy, image, bass extension, punch, dynamics, you name it. The Mark II models are a nice refinement of the original products, which were excellent in their own right. If you have a specific model in mind e-mail me, I can provide lots more info.

What is your budget?

There is also a discussion forum at the Blue Circle website.

BC products don't just go well with other BC products. I've used the preamps with various other brand amps with good success, as well as using various other brand preamps with BC amplifiers.

The Mk2 versions have been well received by owners of the original versions. Many have sent their original units back to BC for upgrade to Mk2.