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Seriously considering tube preamp…opinions?

Tube virgin, here. I am building a system and I'm trying to contain the preamp/amp cost to $3k or so. (I could go up a little.) 

I'm inclined not to dive into tubes all the way through, but get a solid state on the output end. (Open to suggestions; inclined toward PS Audio, Parasound.) I'm reading around about tube preamps and have talked with my local dealer, who sells Black Ice/Jolida and Prima Luna (PL). He used to carry Rogue but said they kept coming back for repairs. That's why he carries PL.

I'm asking these questions after having established (via reviews, comments) that Schiit gear is quite the value. Lately, I've been reading about Decware and other small tube makers. I'm very curious about buying direct, if possible, and a company that stands behind their products is crucial.

So, your opinions about tube integrated or *especially* tube preamps —

1. Who do you like? Consider I want to do pre/amp for a total of $3k if possible.

2. Do you think PL is worth all that money just for a preamp? I get the feeling they're high quality but a bit over-hyped. (No disrespect to the highly passionate Kevin Deal, but he's all over my search results.) And what would you think about $2k/$1k preamp-to-amp spending ratio?

3. Any sense of what happened to Jolida since the name change to "Black Ice"? I see there's a sordid story there but did the re-branding clear up the mess? Any experiences with the Black Ice company?

4. I know there are many Schiit fans out there; so my question would be -- did anyone consider Schiit for tube preamp and go another way? Or move beyond Schiit for any particular reason? It's hard not to just capitulate and do a Freya+ or Saga+ but why wouldn't one just go with Schiit?




128x128hilde45
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,985 posts
 
@last_lemming  I'll look at decware but very low wattage. I am not sure about how that would pair.
@naimfan  Thanks for those additional suggestions.

I've been glad to collect and hear rationales for anything folks mentioned, especially if they worked somewhere w/in the price parameters I mentioned. I've learned a lot.

But honestly, I realize that I will *not* buy something I cannot audition on a trial basis —either in a store or on a demo. I want to hear things in combination, preferably with my speakers and, ideally, in my home.

From all the research I've done and considering my location (Denver area), the tube list gets shorter:

So, what I can actually audition in stores or via mail, these are the choices:

Schiit
Quicksilver
Black Ice/Jolida
McIntosh (a bit pricy but the MA252 is doable)
Prima Luna
Rogue
Octave (probably too expensive)

If I missed a brand that does in home trial, please correct me.

This probably kills all interest in the topic, but just want to let you know how things are ending up for me!
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hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,985 posts
 
@tvad  I'm so grateful to learn from your experience. I do not want to buy and sell, over and over. I'm not against changes but there are other things besides audio I want to pursue, if I may say that out loud.
@decooney has been making the same point about all tubes — I think the message is sinking into my head.

I've had exactly 1 experience with tubes — the all-tube Prima Luna EVO 400, which I didn't like. Sloppy bass, lack of tightness and crisp highs. And I do realize that was likely a one-off for various reasons. If I could have another session which had the virtues of tubes (a variety of virtues, I'm not trying to oversimplify) but which contained a bit more of the crisp, tight, control of solid state, I'd probably be ready to go all tube right now. But I have to hear it.

I don't think of your comment as a sidebar; you see that I'm after what you finally accomplished, and you're warning me off what might be a potential dead-end. That's appreciated.

And RMAF may be worth waiting for, final decision-wise. I'll probably gain years of experiential knowledge from that event.

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hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,985 posts
 
It's good to have aspirations! I have a very detailed chart which I've built from these suggestions; some of these will be marked out as things for down the road. This is one. @decooney was saying a lot of great things about Pass, too. Thank you!
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