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.
The Ayre KXR is probably one of the best out there. I own the non-Twenty version and find it still performs above what can be bought today. And, if you really want tubes equipment that isn’t fussy, then the Atmasphere MP-1 or 3 would be my recommendation. And, Ralph Karsten is a great guy to talk to. He is on Audiogon under ’Atmasphere’ or you can just call him. He often answers the phone. B |
Below is a link to the tubes that were recommended to me for the Premier 17LS2. I believe they are NOS from the late 60's. This is reportedly a longer lasting tube. It's my understanding the c-j cranks up the juice on the tubes in some of their designs and that's why they have a short life span. This wasn't the case in my PV-14L. Those tubes lasted forever. |
@jimbones Agreed. I was hesitant to recommend it because your original post indicated you wanted to move away from tubes. The two tubes are only in the input stage while the output stage is SS - so it is a hybrid design. I am still learning, but am told that these input tubes will last a long time. I brought it up because I am really impressed with the improvement - although maybe a full SS would be just as nice. This is my first stand alone preamp though and as such I don’t have experience with other preamps. |
@allenf1963 both the MC225 and MC240 are legendary for long tube life. I have some of the original small signal telefunken that were shipped in my 1961 MC240. |
