Balanced/Differential tube preamplifier recommendation?

Thanks soix. That's good info. You say VAC, ARC, Atma-Sphere etc.

Would you mind elaborating on the etc.? I am new to the world of high end modern equipment.

As for the Audio GD, I am very interested in that. I appreciate the tip. I used to own their NFB11 DAC/headphone amp, and I really loved it. I'll be doing some research on this preamp today

You do not need a differentially balanced preamp in order for it to integrate into your system, you just need balanced inputs and outputs.

What source are you using? @invalid is right but, as your amp is fully balanced, to preserve that you’d need a fully balanced pre rather than a pre with balanced connections but is not fully balanced from input to output. By requiring a fully balanced preamp you’ll greatly limit your choices at your price level, which is something to consider as going fully balanced is just one in a loooong list of design features that affect ultimate sound quality so you need to balance those based on what’s most important to you. Dual differential is nice to be sure, but it comes at a price as you’ve already discovered so weigh that against what you’d be giving up (i.e. maybe getting an even higher end single-ended pre rather than a lower-end balanced pre for the same $$$). Always trade offs in this hobby.

IME of the three brands mentioned the VAC will likely provide a little more warmth that you seem to be looking for while the ARC and Atma-Sphere will skew more neutral (although this can be altered by using different tubes) all of them make excellent preamps, and at this level it really comes down to personal tastes and system synergy, which is what can making an ultimate choice difficult. I don’t know if Underwood offers a return policy (maybe with a restocking fee, paying return shipping, etc.) on the Audio GD, but if so and depending on the terms that’d be well worth considering as nothing beats an in-home demo and it seems like a good fit from a respected designer. Hope this helps somewhat.

Yes it does help. It's unfortunate that the audio GD has so few reviews. It's at the top of my list right now though. My source is the Gustard R26. I am honestly not sold on the benefits of balanced, but as the rest of my system is balanced it would just gnaw at me to no end not to preserve that

Thanks for the info

@soix

+1

OP, I get that… hard to know what you don’t know.

Fyi. I have all ARC gear… it is fully balanced. I had both a pair of Transparent RCA and Balanced interconnects. ARC recommends using balanced. So, I tried both. It is really easy to set up both and toggle back and forth. I could not detect a difference. Note, this is a very high quality component, so ARC worked at doing a really good job of the conversion from internal balanced to unbalanced output. A lower level component or company might not and there could be a big difference.

XLR interconnects are much more expensive… I upgraded all of my interconnects to balanced… because, just like you, it would have gnawed at me that I was not using in the optimal mode. A typical audiophile reaction… we can’t let stuff go, and in the long run end up with spectacular sounding systems. It’s all this little stuff that adds up to,great sound.