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Sunfire Classic Tube Preamp or ARC SP14?

Hello! I'm planning on purchasing a tube preamp for my Dynaudio Air20 powered monitors. I've narrowed it down to a Sunfire Classic Tube pre and an Audio Research SP14.

I don't want to spend over $1,500 (give or take a few hundred). I'm looking for a extremely detailed sound that retains impulse response so I can hear fundamental notes. I am a drummer and a main objective of mine, other than just enjoying music, is to analyze drum sections of music.

I realize the first obvious choice would be to go solid state, but I do enjoy a bit of the warmth of tubes, not to mention a 3d soundstage that is large. I definitely want to stay away from the soft tube sound.

I've read great things about the Sunfire (great detail, huge soundstage, tight bass) but I realize its fully tube, whereas the SP14 is a hybrid. I'm thinking the fact that it's a hybrid may give me the immediacy and impulse response I'm looking for.

Has anyone had a chance to compare these two preamps?

There are many other choices out there but I'm wary of trying smaller companies because I don't have access to listening to many of them. I also would like to avoid getting into the extended buying/selling process in order to find something appropriate.
woofer72
zd542
5,339 posts
 
You can't predict how a component will sound by looking at generic features. There's nothing that says a solid state preamp can't image, and also have less "warmth" than SS.

"There are many other choices out there but I'm wary of trying smaller companies because I don't have access to listening to many of them. I also would like to avoid getting into the extended buying/selling process in order to find something appropriate."

The only way to avoid that is to make the choice yourself.

Also, I think your speakers have a built in dac/preamp. If so, you're just wasting money on a separate preamp. Why buy a preamp only to have the signal coming from it converted to digital, then back to analog and run it through a 2nd active linestage?
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,611 posts
 
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I'm a huge Bob Carver fan. I had the Sunfire Classic Tube preamp and it had a very 'thin' presentation and I got rid of it. One of the worst sounding preamps that I've ever owned. I later read that later renditions of that preamp had a beefier power supply that provided a much fuller sound than the earlier units. I don't know how you can tell which units have the supposed beefier power supply.
I did own the Carver C-19 Tube preamp, it was better than the Sunfire preamp.
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mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,497 posts
 
Based on the two preamps you have chosen, go with the Audio Research. Hands down.
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