2. amps-preamps
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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
4,974 posts
 
@tvad Thanks. I joined an audio club this morning and visits to folks houses in Colorado will be possible now. I will eat shipping as part of the process. Going to bake that into the spreadsheet. I contacted Tekton — no facility in Utah to tour. Just direct. Hoping to hear from Zu. I'll be at RMAF for sure. I'm realizing that this process may take a while. That's cool. I find it interesting.

@lewin Thanks for the info about Rogue. I definitely have options to try them in Denver. I suspect my local dealer said that in part because he now carries Prima Luna, but I'm not sure. He could just have anecdotal evidence that happened to align with not selling Rogue any more.

@decooney Yes, dealer/mfr support is so important and will make the difference. Appreciate hearing the system-history, too. Small speakers are not out of the question, for sure. The issue is driving them. Good point about 0-60, for sure. Maybe this is possible with the harder-to-drive speakers, but if that can be fixed before setting out on the tube journey, it is sounding like I've had sufficient warnings (about over-spending on tubes to power 84db speakers) and should correct that.
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hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
@tvad If I might wax philosophical for a moment about what’s happened for me, here: this has been a great lesson in "slow technology," a drawing back from that impulse to go 0-100 mph right away. Part of that is impelled, I suspect, by how we buy things now — instantly. Such habits clearly shape, also, how many automatically seek to learn and communicate, too. A favorite thinker who’s been tracking this way of living for 30+ years, Albert Borgmann, calls it the "device paradigm." (He’s quite a famous figure; I recommend his books, and here a good one is: https://www.amazon.com/Technology-Character-Contemporary-Life-Philosophical/dp/0226066290)

But the impulse to speed and automaticity, lack of patience, isn’t necessarily how one must live (as you all know). Conversation and reflection slows me down and helps me realize that doing things quickly is often at odds with doing things well. This general point was familiar to me already (I’ve written on education and the rise of the smart phone), but because audio involves so many complex devices which "do it all," I didn’t grasp how firmly audio, too, is within this sphere.
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danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
Tubes add serious harmonics to terrible recordings to make them sound better.   They also add harmonics to good recordings to make them sound worse.
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