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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?




hilde45
decooney
2,358 posts
 

"I'm using an Innersound Electrostatic amp. It is a circa ~`1999 - 2001 or so amp that I have seen for $2000 and less."


------------------------------------------------
This one?  :)  
If so, some serious grunt for electrostatic loudspeakers.  Potential to likely grenade the small-driver Salk speakers hilde45 is looking at. 

Quote, re: InnerSound Electrostatic Amplifier ("ESL amp")
"massive output stage. Each output transistor is capable of delivering 250 watts -- and there are eighteen of these per channel. As a result, it can deliver a staggering 135 amps of current with a combined power rating of 4,500 watts per channel!". 



hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
5,447 posts
 

Thanks, Markus for the added suggestions, including Coda. The challenge for me (just a newbie) would be figuring out in the abstract not just whether the preamp/amp would work, but would they work well together and with my speakers. That implies more research, but having these names halves it for me!

I'm taking notes on everything, and am quite happy to see the conversation go wherever. In fact, that's probably the biggest fun for me — to see where folks take this question.

I love this suggestion about 4500 wpc for a bookshelf. It reminds me of that Darwin award about the guy who supposed strapped a JATO jet engine to his car and then disintegrated himself into the side of a rock-face, Roadrunner style.


decooney
2,358 posts
 
@markusthenaimnut

Sure would love to hear the setup if you are running the electrostatic speakers to go along with that truly unique ESL amp you have there. Very cool. 

Like some people are with tube amps, the same goes for me with hybrid electrostatic speakers and what they will run them with - very particular.  Some of the fastest and most amazing midrange. Been having fun listening to Soundlab speakers and Eminent Technology speakers lately at my local dealer. They use the same QS Mono 120s I use to drive them. The added power increases soundstage and weight of the presentation for sure.

Proper Matching:
And it brings up a great point for hilde45 again. Matching the speakers to the proper type/power of amplification sure helps, a lot.

A local friend just completely restored some 1957 Quad ESL speakers, trying different amplifiers with them and hearing varying differences. Can’t wait to hear them and the great midrange they produce. :)


markusthenaimnut's avatar
markusthenaimnut
378 posts
 
decooney - you have a PM.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,174 posts
 
@hilde45  with the Salk SS 6M you will only need  about 1/4 the power to do what you were planning before. 30 to 60 watts should be very nice on this speaker provided you are not too far from them in your room.

That speaker seems to be quite tube friendly- a customer of ours has a set and loves them with our M-60 amplifiers. This speaker allows you a lot more options!
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