2. amps-preamps
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Tube preamp with great pace?Cary, Supratek, etc.?

I am thinking seriously of moving to a tube preamp with the hope of breathing more life into my system. But I love the rhythmic core of music - call it PRAT, call it whatever - it is what grabs me, involves me, and keeps me up way, way too late listing to old LPs. I am afraid that without good, acurate pace, I don't care how "airy," "organic" or "blooming" the sound is, it just isn't musical to me. But if it can be combined with great pace, the tube sound is exactly what I am looking to add to my system.

So far, I've only been able to borrow a Rogue Magnum 88 to try in my system, and it was just too slow. I am considering a Cary SLP 98P, a Supratek Chenin, or perhaps a Herron VTSP1A/166. If anyone has heard these or any other tube preamp with good pace, please comment. Comparisons between them would be particularly welcome. My price range right now is 2K to 3K used, but if you know of something that is wonderful in this regard that costs more, I still want to hear about it.

There are few tube options available for me to audition in my area, and so generous Audiogoners, your input is greatly appreciated.

P.S. If you live in south-eastern Michigan and have a tube amp you are willing to let me hear, I offer in exchange lunch at the Ann Arbor restaurant of your choice.
newmanoc
clio09
3,360 posts
 
I have the Cary SLP-98L and find it to be very musical, especially with vinyl. The combination of the Cary preamp with the Cary PH-301 tube phono stage produces a very magical sound from the LPs spinning on my SOTA Nova. I couldn't believe it at first and it has been getting better as it all breaks in. I run these through a Cary V12i and I have NOS tubes all around, which if you're considering the SLP-98 would involve a good investment in RCA or Sylvania 6SN7s (I use 6SN7W in the linestage and 6SN7WGT in the buffer on the SLP-98). They are a major improvement over the stock Chinese tubes.

I have not heard the Herron but have heard great things about it. I would have given it serious thought but I got a great deal on a store demo SLP-98 and I couldn't refuse. As for the Supratek, I was very infatuated with the idea of getting one, but waiting for a new one or taking my chances on a used one dissuaded me. If pace is what you're after I think you would be happy with a Cary SLP-98 assuming it meshes witht he rest of your set-up.
jond's avatar
jond
5,911 posts
 
Hi,
As a former owner of a Supratek Syrah and a current owner of a Herron VTSP1A/166 I would say that first of all they're both great preamps. The strengths of the Supratek were bloominess, warmth, and organic sound, while to me the Herron excelled at quiet, transparency, and "prat". They're both among the better preamps on the market, I personally preferred the Herron, others may feel differently. The best thing to do is somehow work out a way to audition both of them, and the Cary as well. I've never heard the Cary, but I did previously own Cary 300B Signature monos and I will say that the folks at Cary obviously know what they're doing, those were great sounding amps! Anyway I probably confused you more than I helped, but the good news is you're faced with a pretty fun problem to investigate, there's a lot of great gear out there, don't take any of this too seriously and have fun!
czbbcl's avatar
czbbcl
1,752 posts
 
You need to have conrad johnson on your short list as they have a reputation of producing some of the finest tube pre-amps in the industry. At your price point the only two available are a premier 17lsI or a premier 14; both have a remote if that matters. If you can find a premier 16lsII or 17lsII used either would be the better choice with my preference being the 16lsII but either will cost you 4K+.

Chuck
1markr
594 posts
 
Put the DeHavilland UltraVerve on your list. It's very fast, has great PRAT, and let's you customize the sound by rolling just one 6SN7. It's a must hear.
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