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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
5,030 posts
 
Almarg, thanks for the post. Informative as always. Matching tips are so appreciated.

It also reminds me of why I posted (in another thread) asking about the value of the crossover control on the Parasound — the ability to delimit the frequencies assigned to the speakers (and assigned to the sub, instead) was something Salk himself thought could work well with his little 84 db speakers. He didn't say it was necessary, but he accepted it as a way of doing things.

It may well be I wind up doing some speaker shootouts which result in a higher efficiency speaker. For now, I clicked with the Dyns and I expect to give the Salks a real chance. Everything I read about them was phenomenal. But there are other fish in the ocean. A higher efficiency speaker would really open things up, but for the moment, I cannot accept that as a directive given that there’s good evidence on the side of the speakers on my shortlist.


atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,909 posts
 
One parameter is budget. Is this Atma or Ear in the neighborhood of $3k?
@hilde45  We make a 6SN7-based preamp that as a line stage is $1900.00. It is single-ended. We also make balanced preamps (and were the first to do so) but they retail for more than you budget. But we've been making them a long time so you might be able to find one used within your budget. We can refurbish and re-warrant any of our older products.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
5,030 posts
 
Thanks, @atmasphere . I went to your website and took a look. Difficulty was that of the 9 dealers you list, none list prices for almost anything. (I think I found 1 dealer listing 1 price.) This makes it very hard to know what's in the realm of possibility for me. I realize that dealers want to keep things on the down low to work deals with customers, etc., but I'm completely in the dark about what your stuff costs.
decooney
2,139 posts
 
@mesch 1,990 posts
02-24-2020 7:38am@decooney Yes, I love my Audio Mirror Tubadour DAC. Getting the Aric Pre today, on the Fedex truck heading this way. Likely one day will have to replace the BEL. Getting a replacement that provides what it does will be tough. Currently looking into the Pass XA25.Also Reno HiFi. No hurry yet. Have always considered the BEL to be the strongest link in my system. The Tubadour DAC provides appreciation for the source. Soundstage and bloom. On a stricter budget i would consider one of the MDHT DACs.

It was my decision to go digital that drove me towards tubes for source and pre.

If you like the sound of the BEL (many do, nice), and it works well with your Aric Pre and the non-oversampling Tubadour DAC, can't help but think you have a nice combo there. You could replace the main caps in your amp (if/when needed) go through it, try some nice vintage tubes in the DAC, ya never know might be well set for a while! There are a few amps I wish I had kept, yet trying something else is fun too :)
mesch
3,524 posts
 
My system is likely to remain stable up to the point of the speaker binding posts for several years. Over the next couple years I will be looking into other speakers. Any consideration for a amplifier change would occur thereafter.  
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