Preamp with tone controls other then McIntosh C22

Tone controls are usually implemented in two ways:

1. tilting. The FR goes up or down as it gets away from midrange.
2. Shelving. The entire treble or bass region goes up or down a maximum amount.

These are general assesments. Some of the best, in terms of features, were the older Yamaha series with built in parametrics.

"... to hear SQ difference between two high end pre-amps.  The differences are likely to be subtle."

Only if you don't know what you're doing. If you put together a system where the differences between well made, high end preamps are subtle, you really, really messed up. Its time to rethink your approach to audio.

erik_squires
Thanx, Eric. I was asking about tube preamp.

randy-11
Thanx, and yes I can't agree more - need to try it myself, applying major real estate formula: location, location, location - of components in the room I mean.

"Thanx, and yes I can't agree more - need to try it myself, applying major real estate formula: location, location, location - of components in the room I mean.

If you live in the US call The Cable Company. fatwyre.com. They're a Luxman dealer, and I'm sure they can send you a demo unit. But I still say get an EQ instead. Why limit yourself to a very small handfull of choices? The preamp is the single most important piece in your system that you need to get right.

I have a Behringer DEQ 24-96. You can get one for under $300. It has more options on it that you can ever need, and if you run it through your tape loop, you can completely bypass it at will. You can even connect it directly to a dac for better SQ.