Which preamp? Opinions? Suggestions?


Hello Everyone,
I'm just getting back into audio after many years away. I managed to buy a mint set of Infinity IRS Betas. I will be driving the mid/high towers with a pair of VTL 450 monoblocks and the woofer columns with a Phase Linear 400. I have not chosen a preamplifier yet. I have been looking at CJ, Audio Research and McIntosh. I would probably buy something pre ownded on this site. Any thoughts or suggestions out there? I know everone has their own taste in what sounds best but I'd like to hear what everyone has to say.
Thanks.
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The traditional favorites driving IRS-Beta's were big Threshold or Krell Class A amps driving the bass columns, with ARC tubes driving the midrange/tweeter panels. In that setup, I would go for an ARC tube preamp. In your situation, for synergy I would go for either a VTL TL7.5 Series 3 (if you can afford it) or TL6.5 Series II. Apparently the TL7.5 sounds more like a pure tube linestage, but with the desirable qualities of a good hybrid linestage such as low noise, linearity etc.
with the Classe CP800, you have the ability to eliminate the crossover and get a shorter signal path. I own one and it's great! Joe
why do you need class A driving bass columns?
class D can do much better job.