VTL, CTC, Lamm, ARC, EAR, Halcro, Mark Levison

David, I own Lamm amps and Kharma Exquisite 1D-E.ds. Although the Lamm preamp is a good choice, completely by accident, I tried a Conrad Johnson ART-II and loved it. I do have very good CCa NOS tubes in it though.

Also, Bill Parish at GTT Audio who carries both Lamm and Kharma is literally gushing about the new MBL 6010-D preamp which he says is the BEST he has ever heard - period. He has it hooked to the Lamms and the Kharma Exquisites - which is the system he made this judgment with.

As always, this is only opinion based on personal tastes and preferences so YMMV.

I am suprised no one has mentioned the Aesthetix Callisto Sig. I just got one and I am very happy with the sound of my system now(make that astounded).

Chris

i owned the Exquisite 1D's for 4 years and have owned the Levinson #32 as well as had the Lamm L2, Aesthetix Calisto Sig. w/2 power supplies, and CTC Blowtorch in my room with the 1D's. however, i have not had the ML2.1's in my room.

i likely agree with Fmpnd that the ACT II is better than any of those others.....i have only heard the ARC Ref 3 at shows....it is quite good.

my personal recommendation is the new battery powered darTZeel preamp i have now. it is on another level from anything i have heard. if you get the chance listen to it. it includes what may be the very best phono stage i have heard.

your gear is at the very top of the heap.....it deserves the best preamp.

There will probably be no more Blowtorches, I'm afraid, due to the untimely death of Bob Crump. There may be a worthy heir to that mantle, though. If it's pure sonics and musicality you're after in a feature-free line stage, the Tom Evans Audio Design Vibe with the Pulse PSU upgrade ought to be considered. I just got a used one, and it's blowing my mind.

Dear all,
thank you for your comments, I did not know about this bad news... the CTC Builders Blowtorch was probably my first choice.
Still, ARC3 is a "no surprise" preamp and I'm looking for something very very neutral, the Lamm will give all the soul needed to the sound. This is why the ML32 is in the list...
ART II is for me a very "tube" preamp but I haven't tried it with Kharma.
I know about the Aesthetix Calisto but did not have the opportunity to listen to it. Downunder, the VTL is a fair choice as well, but not sure with ML2.1. and Exquisite, and no more dealer in Paris...
This is my biggest problem, I live in Paris (France) and there aren't that many dealers..
Mike, concerning the DartZeel, I know you have one (I looked at your great system) that replaed the Tenor Hybrid (that I almost bought buy they went bankrupt...)
I would love to hear the preamp but where ????
The other possibility would be the LyraConnoisseur 5.0 or 4.2 L... any opinion on them ?
Gliderguider, can you tell me more about the Audio Design?
Last but not least, any user of Wavac PR T1 ?
Thank you for your help.