Tube Preamp: How many tubes does it take to .................

Power tubes can even be used in a preamp, one manufacturer I know of uses power tubes in some of his preamps and DACs.

The new Prima Luna phono preamp uses two EL34s+.

A BAT VK-51,2,3 preamp uses something like 13-15 tubes.

My VK-33SE uses 6. 

The amount of tubes means very little ,you truly only need2

somecj preampsonly 1 tube they split 1/2  of each side

the transformers ,chokes and powersupplies make they most difference 

quality counts ,look atVacuum tube guru Radu Tarta  all highendLundahltransformers or chokes ,or Yamamoto, or Monolith

snd he don’t use coupling caps ,he believes in Highend transformer coupled 

its much more $$ but excellent signal isolation and purity .

capacitor coupled too cap an be very good but high quality parts count 

look atLinear Tube Audio  Micro Zoe  very nice tube preamp with several tube choices .

VTL 7.5 linestage only has two tubes. Nice not to be in the tube rat race

I think about the future when it comes to tube replacement time and the cost involved. Since I'm not a man of means as some folks here clearly are, I shy away from equipment with more than 2-3 tubes.