Hi @jimbones , I agree with avoiding tubes..if you can get sweet sound. For me, at any of their price points, it is Audionet.. I started with the Pre G1 and it opened my eyes to how a good preamp could sound. Then the Pre G2 and now ultimately the Stern. I don't think any of them have balance control though. My other excellent preamp is a Mola Mola Makua.
Solid State Preamp to replace tube unit
I currently own a CJ tube preamp. Ive always owned tube preamps and I would like to get my first solid state preamp.I am fed up with buying expensive hard to find tubes that last 3 months or new production tubes with that not so great sound. I pine for consistency. I probably wont sell my CJ I'll just keep it. My power amps are NAD M23 for the summer and CJ Premiere 12's for the winter.
Since I dont dabble in the solid state world I am not sure what to get. I figure since this is my first SS unit 4-5k preowned??. Some brands I have considered CODA< Pass, AYRE, Classe, Bel Canto, Krell etc. Note: I have tried the Parasound and Benchmark but they didnt do it for me. I dont like anayltical sterile sound. If it is a touch warm/colored that is probably good as I am coming from a very warm CJ tube unit.
Must haves are a remote with balance control. Multiple outputs (XLR and RCA). I have an outboard phono pre. Thank you for reading and for your suggestions.
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C-J is notorious for being hard on preamp tubes. This was one of the factors why I bought a Cary instead. There was just too many reports in the ET series of the 6922 tube lasting only a short time.
most tube preamps are easier on their tubes. My experience is that tubes can easily last a decade or more (Marantz 7C; Audio Research SP6B, Cary SLP05, Schiit Freya and Saga). |
SPL Elector. read about it here. https://spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/elector/ |
With tube gear, a lot of premature failure of tubes can be traced to too high voltage coming out of the outlet. When customers complain of excessive tube failure, the local shop has the person measure the voltage. He then recommends transformers that are specifically matched to the voltage coming out of the outlet to drop the voltage to something that is quite low, such as 112-115. A variac works too, and has the added flexibility of being able to adjust the voltage to changing conditions, but, for some reason, the fixed transformers sound better (according to my dealer anyway). I get a close to rock solid 117 from my outlets so I don't bother, but, I know some people who have measured 124 volts from their outlets and that is not good at all for tube gear. |
I have been through a number of solid state preamps, Schiit, Benchmark, Coda, Ayre and Pass. I have a Coda amp, but did not like their 07x pre, though it was an earlier version than the one reviewed by Teajay. Noisy. I liked the Ayre, but a quirky issue for me, the lowest volume setting was too loud in my system. I think it only had 40-some levels and just did not go low enough. I liked it though. Benchmark was fun and detailed , but dry in the end. I really like the Pass XP-12, a hint of warmth, great soundstage, it has been a good fit. |
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