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Best Value Line Stage Tube Preamps?

Given they are all multi-input, multi-output, balanced line stage tube preamps, what are sonic benefits of a serious Rogue RP-7 or Prima Luna EVO 400 vs. the $899 Schiit Freya Plus? Currently these would feed a Parasound Halo A21 into Legacy Signature SEs, with all cables and speaker placement constant. I know the relevant mfrs/dealers all offer trial and/or return policies, but living far from any source and disliking return hassles, I'm soliciting expert opinions before (preferably, in lieu of) undertaking in-home experiments.
I know that much depends on one's own listening habits and sonic signature preferences, but surely differences in power supply, output impedances, etc. might be objective benefits to spending the 5x more coin for a bigger, badder device?
hickamore
jchiappinelli's avatar
jchiappinelli
117 posts
 
Mofimadness,

Of course PL's new line has the prescript EVO which includes amps, preamps, integrateds, etc but the OP's question was specifically in reference to the PL EVO 400 preamp which does not, as Millercarbon claimed, have a dedicated power amp included.  
hickamore OP
659 posts
 
If an ur-guru like wolf_garcia says Freya+ stands sonically with the best, durable, no tube rolling trouble, that's good enough for me. Whatever risk may remain is easily worth a $900, trade- value-retained gamble. Thinking if/when I "upgrade" from Freya+, it will be more for cosmetic than sonic reasons. If this works as hoped, my next question will likely concern digital preamp upgrades. Thanks to everyone for bundles of useful information.  
dsper
663 posts
 
FWIW, I own a PL Dialogue Premium preamp. It has been back twice for repairs.

Had a bad capacitor within 90 days of purchasing it and some sort of a "circuit problem" about a year later. Both covered under warranty by Upscale but just the same....

In my setup, I can tube roll with the PM and hear the differences. Its sound is bold with upfront vocals. Sees to lack texture and nuance to me; is analytical.

Thanks for listening,  

Dsper
hickamore OP
659 posts
 
dsper, thanks for sharing. I gather that PL may not be the quite the workhorse as Rogue, and that tube rolling is needed to get the desired qualities. At least this should be easy (if costly!) with PL. I don't mind a bit of warmth in the mids and frankly expect it from tubes. There is always some point where analytical = unmusical, but different ears draw those lines in different places. Or even the same ears in different rooms or times of day/night. In my experience, almost any system can sound magical after 10pm on a non-holiday Sunday evening. Maybe it's time for a new thread on power supplies.
rickytickytwo
88 posts
 
@ hickamore, 

Sorry about the late response The tubes that came with the Freya Plus were Tung-Sol 6SN7 as someone noted before. There were two options and I chose the Tung-Sol. I replaced them with General Electric GTB's from Canada. The Tung Sol sounded (in my system in my current very small room) like there were less dynamics, and there was less separation in the instruments. 

I have only changed the tubes approx 3 times.
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