Tube pre for Forte 4a

Mprime,

Very nice looking system!

The Channel Island passive preamp let more details, imaging and bass into my room. I’ve tried this with my tube system and my two SS systems. I have to give Psychicanimal credit because he’s the one that shared this idea with me and actually brought his preamp over so that I could audition it in my system. I was impressed by it enough that I purchased one for myself. The price is right, new $249. You just have to be sure that your interconnects are no longer than 1/M, 1.5/M at the longest.

Short/er cables, any CD 2V source worth owning [playing!], and an amp of perhaps higher gain ~30 dB Can offer sonic nirvana despite what many "active" guys say. My tube-buffered passive was the best linestage I ever owned of ~20 used in my 30 years in this game. I traded it only to try a high-end headphone rig that did not last, I surely regret trading it away as it was a one-off by Tutay, one of the all-time true tube gurus. Drove my 25' i/c without degradation and it was good to 50' according to the Tom.

I now run a 1V dac into a 6 dB preamp, operating near the top of its single-resistor volume network into a gaincard clone and modest but swell 88 dB SEAS monitors. Finest kind for the bedroom. Big rig has a dac w/ analog-domain volume. I lost a power cable and interconnect, two i/c points of connection and the preamp itself. Sublime sonics, fewer boxes, and zero upgrades afer three years except for my marvelous 35W Class A 85# behemoth [amp]. The floor below suffered a little but my back is better %o)

Traded away Two 4a yrs ago, Doh! 2nd biggest audio trangression [see above]. Best of luck in the search for musical ectasy. I'll take that over irrational exuberance anyway. Gizmo's gone, Green-pan lives but looks 20 yrs dead. No justice, at least not in this America. Trip

What about an older pass linestage, from the Aleph series? It can be passive and active should you wish, it seems that it is one with the best compromise if you doubt that passive can satisfy you...because there is always an element of doubt. The non remote version of this preamp goes between 1k-1.5K, the remote controlled version is very hot in the used market and can easily go for 2K....This being said, all Pass linestages are popular in the second hand market. There is also another preamp, the popular Adcom 750, which is also offer passivity and active stages, should you wish, but as someone else stated in a review, it is no match to the newer Pass X series, and possibly superficially similar to the old Aleph P series. If you like minimalism, as if seems your audio philosophy stands, then go the Aleph Ls are as minimal, but not flimsy as they come. Check some threads on them.

The only tubed preamp that I think could match the minimalist philosophy might be the First Sound active preamps...for they were developed from the idea of passives, which Emmanuel stopped making in favor of the highly tauted First Sound Presence Deluxe II...not well reviewed in magazines, but with a cult following.

Lak himself has a First Sound Presence linestage on his set up, does this tell you something?

I myself have the Presence Deluxe MKI, seating on my rack waiting for the time when I switch back to it and a dynamic pair of speakers.

How can I forget, the Bent Noh is having favorable reviews across the Audiocircle forum. Even MSRP is below your target range, I have seen used ones for about $850, if they are to be found.