Best Tube Preamp under 2500?

i tried a rogue 99 magnum-upgraded preamp, & found it very coloured, & w/poor bass response. to be fair, impedence may have been a problem, as this product has gotten great feedback; not *all* of ya are deaf! ;~) i also dint like not having a balance control & not having a tape-loop.

the cary slp98 replaced the rogue & was a wry nice unit - much less coloured, excellent bass response, but still kept that tube liquidity & soundstage depth. i'd have kept it, but i found a used melos music director (updated ma-333), that i yust *had* to try, based upon my recollection of a melos sha-gold preamp that i'd heard a few years back. well, the melos is absolutely fantastic, an order of magnitude better in all areas, & a steal at the prices found on the used market - usually <$2k for the linestage. i honestly believe that this unit competes w/anything currently awailable.

regards, doug

Hi augi,I have a Rogue 99 with phono.I have no impedence mismatch with my Pass Aleph-3,in fact I get terrific bass and dynamics!! Contact Mark O'Brien if you have a concern about impedence.He is very quick to respond.You mention the A.I.mod.3A Go to Audiomusings and look up a review of the Rogue 66 vs the 3A The reviewer ended the review stating he prefered the 66! About 1/2 the cost of the 3A too! I guess since the 99 is a better pre than the 66,I would say between the 99 and 3A the 99 looks like a much better bet.I don't have experience with the BC 21 but I've read its a fine pre. Hope this helps... mornin Duggy,see your working hard today! :)

you might be able to get a CAT sl1 mkIII for that price. I compared it to the slp98 (see above) and while I could live with either, I prefer the neutrality of the CAT. The Cary is very tube-y, romantic etc.

joule electra la100

musicslug, i'm curious what amp/s you are using - i found the cary slp98 to be quite neutral, not at all coloured w/that "tubey, romantic" signature... i'm using a pair of electrocompaniet amps above 60hz.