Tube preamp suggestions.

Hey! Everyone forgot about the Audible Illusions Modulus3A.
This is an awesome full function preamp. It fulfills your sonic priorities to a "T".
They're built like a tank, sound fantastic and are always available on A-gon at reasonable prices.
You can't go wrong.

ok, are you ready for what iam about to tell you? good! here goes........i have a lamm ll2 deluxe and here is what it takes to make this the last tube preamp you will ever need for a good while. to start off, this amp needs a very good power conditioner and a ps audio premier is not in this class. i have a accuphase ps-500 which i purchased on audiogon for $2700 and was rated 10/10. i consider this pc to be one of the best i've ever had with my gear. next is the amp and with all the tube rolling i've done, the black sable mullard 1950's ECC82/12au7's cryogenically treated and the black sable mullard E88CC/6922 cryogenically treated are truly the best tubes for this amp. one last thing to change with this amp and that is the 25 cent fuse. i replace this cheap fuse with a hifi-tuning fuse and this is needed in order to get the full effect of your power cable. next is the cables........the better your cables are the more your ll2 will express its potential. the front end, my ic is the stealth indra (one of the best ic), and my ic to my amp is the stealth gs 50-50 (another great ic and a good match for the indra). my power cables are the stealth dream which i feel are one of the best pc's you can have plugged into your audio gear. there you have it, if you can fit this setup in your budget, you will not be looking for another preamp. this ll2 does extremely well, in fact this amp is outstanding. before this amp, i had the accuphase c-2800 (great preamp), first sound (another great preamp)and few others top preamps and i would say the ll2 has a slight edge, and would not be there if it wasn't for the mullard tubes. the mullards present extended high's/low's and extreme mid's and since the ll2 has a frequency response range of 400k, it makes these tubes more functional. good day! david picarsic

I agree with with several others here that the Lamm LL2 deluxe would be a great fit based on your priorities. I replaced a Hovland HP100 with the Lamm due to the improved bass weight and more realistic mids. It does not have the last word in resolution as the Lamm L2 or several other top flight and much more expensive preamps but it is very musical.

interesting thread. I had an LS25MKII, currently have an LS15 on tap, but have been using a Promitheus TVC. TOmorrow however I get to hook up a BAT VK5i (6922 for current sources and signal gain). I have been a bit mental lately zeroing in on a long term preamp. I suspect the vk5i will be a good match and offer the traits I desire. I like a bit of romance, yet fast, detailed, and powerful with a dense soundstage. The TVC is surprisingly good at most of these things but lacks that last bit of palpable realism (to my ears) capable of the rest of my gear. I really mean the TVC is outstanding though, and especially for the asking prive... I have been listening to it for weeks now and swapping back and forth between that and the LS15 there is no obvious "winner".
However, I suspect that Vk5i will be in another league and I look forward to getting to know it. It has been my experience with the LS25MKII, that, basically it is ruthlessly revealing. Very detailed, yet sometimes painfully illuminating subtle flaws in either the source material or elsewhere... Probably a great tool for a mastering engineer's studio but a bit too much for my tastes (I did not have a go with it in my current system, rather previous incarnations with similiar equipment, it is quite possible that it would be a stunning match with the Pass!). It all depends on your own desires (obviously) and some find great peace with the 6h30 designs (it is probably wrong to stereotype a gain device). I would like to try other manufacturer's implementations on this tube, esp say the BAT Vk51 someday.

Have fun

I would second the recommendation for the Joule Electra LA-150 MkII. I previously owned the Blue Circle BC 3000 MkII, and the Joule provided a dramatic increase in bass impact and harmonic fullness. Here's HP's description in awarding it a 2007 Golden Ear:

"With the LA-150 [MkII], your'e going to think your speakers have bottom-end response like they never did before. And it won't sound 'wrong' either. That's because Barber has elicited from the electronics a correspondingly alive and dynamic upper midrange, though not enough of one to make you think it is a euphonic coloration, so skillful is the design. All all this is bathed in glorius 'tube' sound, like a darker version of the classic gear when Audio Research ruled the waves, and with even less distortion."

I don't listen much to reviewers, but everything he said is true in my system (solid state amps driving monitor speakers). But you must get the MkII version -- the original used the 6h30 and reportedely sounds very different.

I haven't heard and didn't consider the Lamm after living with no remote during my (otherwise favorable) Blue Circle experience. My only hesitation would be if your speakers are already bass-heavy, in which case the Joule could be too much of a good thing.