Might take a look at the Bryston BP 17 cube. balanced impedance is 4.5kΩ.
@jbuhl That is very high output impedance - too high for me to use
Help recommend a good tube preamp
I am looking for recommendations for a good, fully balanced tube preamp (< $4k - $12k) for my system:
DAC: Holo May
Power amp: Hegel H30 (input impedance (balanced / XLR) = 25k ohms)
Speakers: Focal Maestro Utopia III
Room: 20ft X 21ft
Music: mostly jazz / classical. Some classic rock.
Preamps tried before: McIntosh C2600, Hegel P30, Holo Serene, Rogue RP5
Constraints: output impedance should not be high (as my amplifier’s input impedance is quite low)
I tried C2600 (but with different amp / speakers).
Recently, I tried Rogue RP5 - sounded great but it does not have XLR out (H30’s unbalanced input impedance is a measly 9.6 kilo ohms). So, a natural recommendation would be the Rogue Audio RP7 - except that in the Stereophile review’s measurements section, John Atkinson recommends not using the pre with amps with less than 30k input impedance (affects low frequency response).
Thanks.
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@jbuhl That is very high output impedance - too high for me to use |
@soix The details are in the 1st post. I have used C2600 (Mac) and Rogue RP5. Liked both - particularly the RP5 sound. Both use the same tubes. |
@markmuse How would you describe the difference between the two preamps you mentioned? I like that the gain is just 9db and it does have a low output impedance. |
ALAL great recommendations. I’ve used a tube amplifier for years and so my choice was the VYL 6.5 pre amp. It added depth and soundstage to an already sweet system (DAC is a Brinkmann Nyquist). I live in So Cal and the VTL is manufactured near by-that was a big factor in the event it ever needs service. |