Tube Preamp - What to buy?
No phono stage... but I'd be looking at Don Sach's and Aesthetics. http://www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom%20line%20stage.html http://http//www.dsachsconsulting.com/custom%20line%20stage.html |
Audio Research and CJ are at opposite ends of the sonic spectrum. the sonic gap has been narrowing for some time now, at this point, their top of line pieces are rather convergent.... c-j gat and arc ref 6/10 are both very extended, impactful, excellent bass drive, with tube beauty and richness in the midband, and expansive, deep quite specific soundstaging days of crystal clear fast grounded arc vs c-j’s honey colored beauty with sloppy bass and rolled off treble date back to circa 2000, when the arc sp-16 and c-j pv12 were current c-j still dedicated to single ended connections while arc top stuff is balanced only... that is a major distinction that persists |
in budget, right up your alley, includes Phono and remote, how nice that is. https://www.ebay.com/itm/124788183810?hash=item1d0df49302:g:x4sAAOSwkaVg15if seller says no returns, but you can buy the square trade 1 yr warranty, and you are always covered by eBay/Paypal, no risk really. IMO, given the speaker’s 88 sensitivity, start with Tube Preamp into your existing amps, then get ready for either more efficient speakers for future tube amps, or bigger tube amps for those speakers, and who knows what other speakers in the future. |
