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Preamp for manley snappers

I am in search for a preamp without phono stage for my manley snappers. I have tried audible illusions,art audio,first sound and tron seven and VTL 6.5. They were all lent to me for audition by friends. Of all the units i auditioned it is only the 6.5 that had me smiling but the price is just so expensive i have to look somewhere else. My budget is around 4k dollars. Friends suggested the modwright 9.0 or the 36.5 but i dont have access to any demos of these units. Any suggestions are welcome.
csr827
csr827 OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for your replies. I will be auditioning a vtl 5.5 tonight and hope it goes near the sound of the 6.5 as the price is within reach. More suggestions are welcome!
tpreaves's avatar
tpreaves
2,686 posts
 
How about a Manley Shrimp? Spend the extra money on more music !!
csr827 OP
6 posts
 
Will the shrimp be as good as the vtl 6.5? As of now im looking at a preamp that would sound as nice as the vtl 6.5 but at the 4000 price level.
toudou's avatar
toudou
85 posts
 
I always felt that the Snappers sounded better, more open, through the XLR inputs!
The plus with the VTL 5.5 is the fact that it has XLR outputs.
Definitely worth a try.
Good luck with your audition, and post your opinions when you get a chance.
csr827 OP
6 posts
 
Its almost midnight here in this part of the world and i am now auditioning a vtl 5.5 and a hovland hp 100. The vtl lent to me had telefunken 12ax7 nos tubes and the hovland on stock tubes.Both preamps are excellent but the hovlands imaging is more pin point and you can picture the accurate separation of instruments. The vtl had a more wider sound stage but the richness of the sound makes it difficult to pinpoint instrument placements. A friend who was with me when we compared both preamps mentioned that the hovalnd had a more elegant sound. If only the hovland had a remote control, my search would have been over.
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