Good tube preamp w/ HT bypass


I've finally decided to snag an AVM30 for my pre-pro, and aragon 8008 amps for my amplification (or Sherbourne 7/2100 - I bought both, and will sell whichever I like less).

However, I keep hearing about tubes! I don't have any experience with them, but I'd love to give it a try. I've read that by combining SS amplification with tube preamps, I can preserve the bass control of the SS w/ the midrange of tubes.

SO - are there any preamps you can recommend to me to try and/or demo? I need it to have HT bypass, so I can use my HT rig separately from this...

I've read the Rogue Magnum 66 is good... The audio research sp-16l is supposed to be good... And the TAD-150 was recommended to me (http://www.angelfire.com/biz/bizzyb/TAD-150.html) but I can't find any other information on it.

Non tube pres that have been recommended to me are the sonic euphoria plc and adcom 750; but i'm not sure if either would better the avm30.

Oh; budget would be $500-1000, used or new. Thanks for any recommendations!
kincade
Is there a reason why you are committed to tubes? I would think one should choose on the basis of sound and auditioning and keep one's options open.

Kal
No, not really; I've just heard good things from tubes lately, and really been interested. I supposed I could pick up an adcom gfp-750 and run it in passive w/ HT bypass engaged; that wouldn't add any sonic signature. And it seems to be highly rated....
I just checked the schematics for the SF Line series and the HT bypass is a complete bypass: No active circuitry except for switching.

Kal
Kal,

Wow, great! Thanks for that information!

I just bought a line-1 here, but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm hoping it's what I am looking for; I've read that they are very neutral; I hope it's not so transparent that my numerous poorly recorded CD's don't sound too bad to listen to! ;-)

To ask you another question Kal; how long do tubes usually last, and how do I know when they go 'bad'?
Hey kincade
How did you make out with your quest for tube integration into your HT? I'm starting down the EXACT same road you've already traveled. I've been told that the use of tube preamps can possibly cause dammage to a SS amp. Did you run into any of that?
Paul