2. amps-preamps
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Tally up best preamplifier ever

We have seen so many threads on what is the best preamplifier ever, but the responses end up in paragraph form as a result making it hard to get a good accessment of which preamplifier gets mentioned most or more often, which is ok, but let us see if we can get a thread going that will make it easy to tally up which preamplifier gets the most votes as the best preamplifier............. We all have different tastes let's keep in mind that the diversity is a plus and there is no need to make this a personal crusade................ I think most of us would like to see a genuinely accurate picture of which is the best preamplifier. I don't like to live by rules but if I may suggest let's keep the response limited to just the name of the preamplifier company and model name or number. Every now and then we can get a score card showing the results. I would like to start off with what I consider the best preamplifier: .............. hovland hp200
pedrillo
dob
577 posts
 
"Joule LA300 ME if you need gain and buffering for impedance matching between sources "

Besides fantastic "magical" sound LA-300ME can have and unity gain and variable up to 11 dB and you don;t have to buffer your signal if you don;t need it: all J-E preamps have two outputs, one direct from gain stage (what today BAT does) and, and buffer in case you need it.

and I will add that tube life span is 5- 10 years and with high impedance amplifier its double.

and on the top of it, J-E preamps usually 24/7 in standby mode - so there is no need to wait for warm up, just flip switch from standby to operate..

and least important ...that Garry pearson called "the mst romantic preamplifier..." preamp to die for !!!!!!!!!!!!
worldcat
160 posts
 
The Veloce LS-1 is the best i have heard! WOW!
magnumpi205
504 posts
 
Marantz 7C
allchemie
118 posts
 
The best under $2,000 would be the Doge 8. It has an excellent line stage and a very good phono section.

At under $5,000 the Audio Horizon 2.2 is great.

At $5,000, the Coincident Technologies Linestage is as good as $20,000 linestages. The only drawback is it only has 2 inputs, ao one might have to re-think their front end. They also sell a great phono stage, but it costs about $5,500.

Under $20,000 I would opt for the Einstein The Tube Mark II. It is a great preamp and very dynamic and grit and grain-free. I have this unit and couldn't be happier. It replaced a VTL 7.5 and beats it in about every category.

The only pre-amp I have heard that I like as much is the Coincident Linestage. But the Einstein has 5 inputs instead of the 2 in the Coincident Technologies model.
bullot
130 posts
 
I switched from a Joule LA300ME to the Atmasphere MP1Mk3.1 and like it very much. Both preamps are wonderful.
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