@ghdprentice I took a look at your system. You are on a different level!
Sunday dreaming about preamps...
I am closing in on a turntable choice, so now I am thinking about what I see as the next weak point in my system. Right now, I have sources feeding an Audio Research SP16L which feeds an Art Audio PX-25 power amp and Blumenhofer Genuin FS2s. The SP16 was ARC’s entry level pre-amp years ago and definitely a good start, but I am thinking that’s the place where I can get better.
With that in mind, aiming for tube designs, I looked at a couple of preamps both priced at ~$10k which I know for some here would be a step down but for me would be very much at the upper limit right now.
Local dealers trade in ARC, Aesthetix, BAT, Hegel, NAD, Quicksilver, PrimaLuna, Quad, Rogue, Rotel and some others which are only SS.
On an initial search. the BAT VK-80 and the ARC LS28se, would seem to both be candidates to aspire to. Who wins that shootout? What else should I consider?
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It sort of depends on what kind of sound you are after and whether you are contemplating any other component changes, such as a different amp. When you say preamp, do you mean something with a built in phono stage? What features do you require (e.g., remote control, balance control, mono, phase inversion, etc)? |
@larryi good questions. In terms of what I am looking for, most important is a full sound. I am not aiming for analytical. I also will have a separate phono stage. Beyond that, I would love a remote and a volume control with much finer gradations than the sp16. I would want a mono switch. I have never thought about phase, so I have no idea how important that is. Something to figure out, I guess. |
I find the ARC linestages to be on the leaner side. It sounds like you are looking for something more in the Shindo, Audio Note side, but, with remote control. I personally also think that remote control is a must. I also think a balance control is a useful feature, although I don't require remote control of that feature. While I don't think that the Atmasphere preamps are in the warm sounding camp, they are very good and should be considered in a high end system. I also like the Backert linestages, which I've only heard in systems at audio shows (i.e., not in a familiar system), but, I did like the sounds of the show systems, and I like what I saw in terms of build and features. Another interesting candidate is the Allnic L-3000 or whatever is their current model. I have not heard the linestage, but, their other gear is quite good and I really like their approach to gear (the linestage is transformer coupled instead of capacitor coupled, I like that kind of sound). |
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