If you must have tone controls, you limit yourself quite a bit in terms of selection. McIntosh seems like the most likely choice. If your sources are digital, maybe a digital EQ like the Behringer deq2496 would be a better solution. The cost is low and it leaves you with options like using a stand alone dac to improve sound quality while the signal is still digital. Then you can just choose any preamp you like.
- ...
- 12 posts total
What you can do is get a modern, no-tone control pre-amp with a processor pass through input, send an output from that pre-amp to an older pre-amp with tone controls, return the output from that pre-amp (with the signal "tone-controlled") back to the modern pre-amp (the processor input). You can then switch the tone controls in and out. For instance, a recent Audio Research line stage and the old SP-3 (the last ARC I remember having tone controls). |
Several McIntosh preamp have highly versatile tone controls and balanced inputs/outputs. You might also consider the Spread Spectrum Ambrosia. |
- 12 posts total