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"I think a lot of us tried the DAC to amp experiment so do not feel alone. I used to discount the importance of the preamp and thought it was a place to save money. My current preamp costs as much if not a little more than my amplifier so yes, I clearly changed directions on this topic. My .02 is to put all you can into your pre and punch a little above your weight if possible. Cheers." +1 @phcollie. There's no better teacher than experience. Charles |
cshadow OP19 posts |
Preamp shootout: Linear tube audio, Modwright, etc.
Hi Audio friends,
The world of preamps is taking me down a lot of rabbit holes and I'm curious what everyone out there thinks. My journey here started with using my Dac direct to amp. As soon as I inserted a dedicated pre the debate over pre vs. no pre ended. Didn't realize I was missing a third of the music. My current rig: wilson sabrina's, Coda TS v2 power amp, exasound DAC, silnote & cardas cables . I was using a Modwright LS100 and I'm currently trialing the Linear tube audio ref pre. The LS 100 is holographic, images well, but is not nearly as open or detailed as the LTA. The LTA is gorgeous through the mids, but is a little muddy through the bass and not really suited for hard rock. Wonder if different tubes would make a substantial difference to the LTA? If anyone has experience please share.
What other options might be considered in this price range?
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If you want to wander off the beaten path slightly, I suggest you take a look at the LKV Research Line One pre-amp. It is a solid state differential balanced preamp, no remote, separate power supply, and to my ears better than the LTA microZOTL preamp (which I use to own) for detail, sound staging, and overall musical presentation. It will not win any beauty contest, but it is worthwhile considering. |
Are you testing the original or upgraded (level 2) LTA preamp? I just got my LTA preamp returned with the upgrade today and the bass is a bit deeper/tighter. Still evaluating other aspects of the upgrade - definitely a bit better overall. I would agree with those who posted above about rolling the small tubes - since the LTA doesn't drive the tubes hard, it makes it easier to upgrade without worrying about burning through expensive tubes. I put in some NOS Siemens 12AU7s and the sound definitely was a little clearer and cleaner over the stock tubes. |
@giantsalami I love my. Modwright 36.5. Upgrading the rectifiier tube, as recommended by Modwright, makes all the difference. Ask Vintage Tube Services for a god Mullard. The 6h30's don't make that much differennce |
The two I can think of that could be interesting are: PS Audio BHK Signature AVM Evolution PA5.2 In both cases the stock tubes are not optimal. In the case of the BHK, there is a pair of NOS Tunsgrams that really brings the unit to life and it is a VERY good sounding preamp. I used it for about a year with a variety of amps and was quite happy. I scrapped it because PS Audio went direct and I did get a better preamp from Art Audio. The AVM uses ECC83s. I recommend rolling in NOS Mazda Cifte's if you want detail, Mullards if you want sweetness. This unit is feature packed including tone controls, input attenuation, etc.... I have this unit here now as one of my preamp demos.
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- 37 posts total