3 great tube preamps. Which would you purchase?

@jred,

I too have heard great things about Don Sachs gear and his Phono stage sounded wonderful in my system. I have the Micro ZOTL Preamp and It’s a keeper for life. There is no longer a start up thump, that was solved last year. The volume clicking really doesn’t bother me. I do my fine tuning volume adjustments in Jriver from my iPad anyway. I can’t really speak about the other pre’s you mentioned but the ZOTL blows away my old Audible illusions pre.

Forget about balanced outputs.  If they were meaningful, Don would design his preamp for them, but he feels RCA outputs are perfectly fine.

If you hear balanced line done right, there simply isn't any going back to single-ended. More detail, blacker backgrounds... One advantage of balanced operation is the interconnect cables between the preamp and amp won't be a big deal any more; if you've ever auditioned cables to get the best sounding one in your system you know what I'm talking about. You can also run longer distances as well, but that blacker background benefit is still there even if the connection is only 6 inches.


The thing is, there is a standard for balanced line, which many high end audio manufacturers don't seem to know about. Its called AES48. If you want the benefits of balanced line operation, make sure that you ask the manufacturer if their gear supports AES48.

Hey all!

So the journey has ended. Or it has just started? 

I went for the Herron VTSP-3A(r03) with the black face plate. Included gratis with the purchase — 6 newly tested Electro-Harmonix 6922EH tubes. 

The preamp is used of course. For my first foray into tube electronics it’s more than a great starter. 

Went for Keith’s IC’s.  Heck he designed em to work in conjunction with his electronics. PC - Nordost Red Dawn. 

Should be expecting this Friday. 

So with all of the great feedback I was contemplating on 

LTA Microzotl preamp. 
Backertlabs Rhumba 1.3
Rogue RP-7&9 - though a bit tough on the wallet. 

It was a difficult call. Though you have to go with your gut. 

I’ll keep you guys posted once all breaks in thoroughly. 

Thanks so much!! Couldn’t have pulled this one off - without all whom posted. All were great suggestions with a multitude of valid points. 

Sincerely,

J

J: Cool! Let us know how you like. I was going to recommend Keith's interconnects but you beat me to it. For the money, a no brainer. I heard them in my system and they are very good--you would have to spend lots of money to do a little better. Chime in when the VTSP settles in so we know whether it floats your boat. And yes, if you need a phono stage the VTPH-2A IS the ticket.

@dodgealum 

I should have a good idea fairly quickly. Tubes need about 50/70 hours- my guess. The IC’s. About 90 tops. Keith said he never turns off the Herron pre. It’s that efficient. 

Ha. The amount I spent this week on accessories and gear. It’ll be a while before I get a phono stage. Plus  -  all of the newly discovered vinyl I’m digging up  is fetching 100.00 on average,  that I’d like too add to the collection. 

Industry seriously needs to repress. Probably legalities generally speaking. Especially when the music is a bit under the radar. 

Agreed. I would probably have to shell out at least 400.00 to rival Keith’s IC’s. Never tried Nordost. It’ll be interesting. 

My entire loom is TWL. Figured give a different company a try for the heck of it. Worse case. Back to TWL.. 

least I can do is report back. Will definitely do so. 

Cheers,

J