2. amps-preamps
  3. 1162086233

Pre amp for Pass Aleph 3

Current or former owners of the Pass Labs Aleph 3 amp, please give me some idea of what pre amp you like and sounds good as well as mates well with the 3. I just picked one up and know it needs a pre amp with a bit of gain. No passives with this amp as noted in the Stereophile Class A review.

Im currently thinking of AA Modulus 3A, Cary SPL-50 or EA-3 DJH Sig. pre as well as an Audio Note M-One. Id like to have a MM phono stage...but not necessary. Price range used is ~1K.

Thanks for the ideas and thoughts,
Ken
128x128kehut
kehut's avatar
kehut OP
668 posts
 
Thanks all. I paired the Aleph 3 with a EA-3 DJH with some RCA 6SN7GT/231 Gray Glass tubes..Very smooth sound.
jtgofish's avatar
jtgofish
515 posts
 
A friend has used a Supratek Grange to good effect.The Aleph 3 to my ears sounds good but a bit lifeless.So vibrant sounding preamps like the Suprateks suit them well.Even the cheap Chenin would work well.
peterh
41 posts
 
I have Aleph 2 mono amps and am VERY happy with a Placette active pre amp. Rarely seen on used Audiogon but WORTH THE WAIT. It has plenty of gain in my system,is the best I've heard, dynamic, detailed, coherent. Guy, the man who builds them is a gentleman. Try it at home. PH
nolitan
865 posts
 
I heard a buddy's Aleph 3 driven with Emotive Audio Sira Pre-amp= best sound I heard from the Aleph 3
david12
1,454 posts
 
I tried my Aleph 3 with a Pass X2, if I remember correctly and it was horrible. Neither I nor the dealer, nor Pass the company, could figure it out. I got great results from 2 tube pre's, but I prefer tube pre's anyway, first a Graaf WBT then Conrad Johnson premier 17. Both were excellent
More to discover