Tube Pre-Amp Recommendation


Im new to this forum but have spent few months reading into posts. The more i read the more i get confused on my first purchase of a Good quality Tube Pre-amp. At this very moment I have always used Solid states pre-amp but after hearing the Audio Research Arc Ref 5 and 3 I am on the upgrade bug. Considering these units cost allot of money I need some suggestion if there are other Tube Pre-Amp which can either match similar levels to the Arc Ref 5 or better it.

I am not bothered about name brands or looks of the unit rather on how it presents the music to me.
I have not own a Tube Gear before in my life, and not sure on how to go about it. BTW I am in Indonesia (A British Expat Working and Living Here)

Demoing unit is out of the question here, even buying a unit here is so much more expensive then back at home In the UK. I prefer to Buy from USA (Will use a Power converter if needed)

My Current Setup is:
Speakers: Philharmonics 3
Amplifier: Audio GD Master 2 Series Mono Blocks (Will Upgrade Later to Krell, Macintosh or Pass)
CD player: Oppo 95 Using on Board DAC for the time being. Looking to upgrade later on for DAC
Room: Heavily treated, with Foam, Acoustic Panels, Bass Traps in all 4 Corners.

Budget less than 6000 Dollars.

Need Performance Level Matching that of Arc Ref 5Se or better.

Need suggestion and opinion on how to go about this. I prefer fasting sound more to neutral. Slight warm but not too much. I did find Cary SLP05 Pretty Warm, however on Ebay it slipped my fingers otherwise I was going to pull the trigger on that. I will being pairing this with Solid State Amplifier don’t want to get into Power Amps using Tubes for the next few years at least.

Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks Guys
dragon_vibe
They are also good preamps as you know Rx8man, but the Dude is so special I sometimes must let others know. I realize a potential buyer must be comportable buying from a small operation.

Dragon, forgot to mention that Paul makes Dudes to suit whatever needs you have. So Dudes have different inputs, outputs, tubes types etc... to fit what you want. This makes it impossible to print one set of specs as you can imagine. For example my Dude has two 6sn7 tubes per channel instead of one for more gain.....
Grannyring,

Will have to find and research into this, spending 6000 grand on a pre-amp from user rave reviews on here is a some anmount of risk taking.

I am finalsing my list to the following:

Dodd (Used this with my Theatre Setup)
Coincident Statement
Dude
VAC

I will try to find pictures of the internal of dude. I did request it from Paul. If yuou guys can share pictures i would like to see them.
Does The Dude offer a free home trial period? That may work for you Dragon_vibe.
The problem is Dude :-) im not in the USA. If Paul Allowed this i would take up on the offer and bite the bullet on Customs Charges. I really want to try this gear out.

I have purchased many things in the past with out listening to the gear, some have been good suggestion whilst others i ended up being dissapointed and had the burden of losing the cash out and going through the headache of selling it.
I have asked pual a series of questions but never got the full answer. He just went on saying well he has sold this and sold that. Im confused.