Best tube preamplifier for under $15k

i own 6 linestages at present - no such thing as a favorite... it depends on system and what is needed but you can see what i voted for with my feet and wallet so to speak

audio research reference 3
ayre k5xe mp
cj et5
cj prem 16ls2
don sachs
carver lightspeed ref

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tried and sold (partial list) over the years

vac ren 4
modwright swl 9 se
arc ls26
arc ref 2-2
mccormack tlc
audible illusions mod 3a
cj act2
cj gat (1)
cj pv14
cj pv10a
cary slp 98
parasound jc2
ps audio bhk

I don't think there is any reasonable answer to that question, particularly because no particular requirements are specified.  Is remote control a necessary feature (to me it is), is a balance control important (again a necessity for me)?  

Do you really mean a preamp (meaning with a phono stage) or are you talking about a linestage?  If a preamp, does it have to work with a moving coil cartridge, and if so, how much gain is needed.

If I were in the market for a fairly high-end linestage, I would look at the Atmasphere linestages and Backert linestages.  I would also agree that something from Audio Note and Shindo would also be good candidates. 

For that kind of money, you could even get certain builders to make custom linestages or preamps.  I have a preamp custom made by Deja Vu Audio (Northern Va.) that was built to my requirements--remote volume control, balance control, input transformers and output transformers to mate with my amplifier which has input transformers.  By now, this model would exceed $15,000, but they make models that are a lot less expensive.

Iv owned a number of pre-amps in my past 25 years in this hobby whilst there are tons of good sounding pre-amps out there, I always came back to an Atma-Sphere Pre-amp eventually after owing the older modes selling them off than buying new version later on after few years of bad experiences with another high endbrands, I have both MP-1 and MP-3 fully loaded.  

When i sold of my older MP-1 i kinda regretted it in the end after trying so many other high-end brands such as VAC, VTL, MC, ARC, ML, Asthetix, few others custom made ones too.

A Fully Loaded MP-3 with the Volume upgrade etc etc, is not far behind the standard MP-1.

VACs are another good brand it's coloured for sure pleasant-sounding but i got very bored of it. i don't seem to get the same feeling with the Atma-Sphere gear. I get that toe-tapping feeling the speed, dynamics, transparency all almost just sounds you're being transported to a live event. They are not harsh sounding nor coloured its very hard to describe the sound especially when you use them on OTL Amplifiers. Something magical about this setup once its setup properly.


The Problem with the MP-1 is its very sensitive pre-amp in the sense you will get all the transparency you ever want but you must use very quiet tubes. This is the only issue I have. I must be careful on the tubes purchases. Tubes which pose no noise with other pre-amps seems to have some noise on the MP-1. Apart from this minor issue i honestly think it can compete against Pre-amps costing 5-6 times more easily.

I have managed to acquire quiet tubes and they work very well with the MP-1. You just need to invest in good tubes and buy them from reliable sources that test properly.

If you buy the crap from ebay you will end up with noise issues. Whilst these tubes could be quiet on other pre-amps they are not with the MP-1. the pre-amp is very sensitive thus you have to be careful how you set this up. Using good Tube Dampers, good Damping platform, good tubes. If all done well you will be rewarded with something that feels magical.

I just had this built and do agree with the people who claim that once you go to a DHT preamp, you'll never go back to IDHTs again. Just got it on Saturday and am already hearing more natural holographic detail out of my system than ever before. Really looking forward to the full journey as all the iron breaks in.  Just sold my wonderful and heavily upgraded Don Sach's DS2 6sn7 linestage. I only have one source, so I'm just using it as a voltage gain device, but multiple source switching is available.

https://simplepleasuretubeamps.com/2020/12/30/shiny-eyes-eml20a-preamplifier/