My “Dream” system needs a preamp

Hi kgveteran,

Don't mean to avoid your question on this thread. I noticed your dream system consists of a pair of Magnapan 1.7i's. First let me say that I think Magnapan is a great company who makes wonderful speakers. In the past I've owned and really enjoyed their 3.7i's, fantastic speakers. I now own the Eminent Technology LFT8B's and in my opinion are better than the 3.7i's! They are around the same amount of money as the 1.7i's ($2200.00 vs $2500.00) I would buy the LFT8B's in a heart beat. I can honestly say, after owning both the 3.7i's and the LFT8B's it's no contest. I feel that the LFT8B's are, dollar for dollar, the absolute best value in ALL of high end audio, not just speakers! In the $2500.00 price range I have never heard a speaker that can provide this level of quality. They need and amp with a good power supply that can provide enough high current to the panels (just like the Maggie's) which the Krell you want should have no problem providing. Once they are setup properly, they are simply amazing. Before you buy the Maggie's I would strongly recommend listening to the Eminent Technology LFT8B's. 

Your question regarding the preamp was not 100% clear to me. I think you're asking for new preamps suggestions in the $2500.00 price range. 

The names that seem to keep coming up as great choices in a tube preamp in that price range are DeHavilland, Arci, Don Sachs and Supratek. The Don Sachs and the Supratek are the two I would look into. They are supposed to be really good sounding and very reliable for the money. Good luck. 

Hi scothurwitz...

So... I did purchase a Supratek but in the end decided to stay with the BHK.  The Supratek is nice but a bit to "polite" meaning it rounds off the leading edge of transients.  The version I had was the DHT.  Good balance but not in the same league as the BHK.  The tubes I have settled upon in the BHK are early 60's 7dj8's out of Germany but there are a number of very good tube options out there for reasonable money.  

My system is a 47 labs Pi tracer CD (oldie but goodie), Denafrips terminator and PS Audio DirectStream w/Bridge-II D-A streamers, of course the PS Audio BHK Pre, that's it for the front end.  The main amps are Coincident Frankenstein Mk-II 300B monoblocks driving BD-Design Orphean horns running full range plus a pair of Crown K2 amps bridged mono driving BD-Design 15" Reference Compact base speakers.

Let me know if I can help you further. 

I also own both the BHK and the Supratek Chardonnay and I prefer the Chardonnay which is a straight 6SN7 preamp. In terms of just lack of noise alone the Supratek wins by a mile. I have rolled almost two dozen different pairs of new production and NOS tubes through the BHK including 6,7 and 12 volt tubes. The quietest pair of tubes though certainly not the best sounding were a pair of triode matched Gold Lions 12AU7’s. All of the 6 & 7 volt tubes are noisier than the 12AU7’s the preamp was voiced with. The 6SN7 based preamps just happen to be my preference sound wise. We all hear things differently in our systems so neither one of us is "correct." Also the DHT based preamps sound different than the 6SN7 based one so who knows tinear123 might have preferred that version.

No doubt that the Supratek was dead quiet and yes possibly the 6SN7 could have been a better fit than the DHT version but the synergy between my Coincident amps and the BHK is better than the Supratek… in my very high efficiency system where it is capable of very high dynamics the DHT Supertek was just not quick enough on it's feet.  FYI, the BHK is very sensitive to ICs.  I have a friend that tried the same  7dj8's as me in his BHK and they were noisy.  I put the same exact pair in my BHK and they are dead quiet.  So now I have a 2nd pair for backup.

I have owned the BHK for well over two years and in that time I have used multiple brands and models of IC's so I don't go for that theory.  One of the problems with the BHK preamps from being a member of their forum for many years is that no two of them seem to be exactly alike and there have been more than a few mods of the input boards which have been prone to failure as have the ones in the amps.   So if you received one that is acceptably quiet to you with your particular amps then count yourself lucky because I suspect that there is a chance that if you tried a different one in your system it might not react the same. Mine is even noisy with their own amp.  I have a friend on another forum that has had three different ones in his system and he said each  one had it's own noise related quirks with no two being alike.  Their is no disputing the BHK is a great sounding preamp once the music is playing but when it's not it can be a different story in some systems. Especially those with low input sensitivity amps or high sensitivity speakers. You found the one you like best so enjoy  and I will do the same.