Thoughts from Joule preamp owners?

Like you've said- Joule is in a different league, not only price- wise, but also sonically. It is much more refined and musical. Better bass extension, significantly better treble extension and it is more dynamic, as well.
I have 108 dB system, and Joule is DEAD quiet. Unfortunately Supratek is not. With a less sensitive speakers, it might not be such an issue.

Thanks Maril555, I appreciate the info. I don't find noise too much an issue other than the phono stage then again I am using the Merlins which are less efficient than yours but it is still quite remarkable to me that your speakers are 108 dB and is dead quiet, especially using tubes, that is indeed amazing! The Berning amp I am using is DEAD quiet so any noise in my system would come from the pre-amp. The other things you note concerning the differences are most certainly of greater interest, thanks again for the insight.

BTW, what a nice system you have! I love the Lamms as well, you must be at or near the very pinnacle with that set-up.

" What amps and speakers are you using with the 450?"

I have a pair of Spectron monoblocks running Sasha by David Wilson. Extraordinary combination, the best system I ever owned. Many people complain that Wilsons do not have enough of dynamic range and deep bass or musically not involving - not with this pre and power amps !!!

Mike

I would think that the Joule is a particularly good match with SS, not only because you can adjust the output impedance, but I think Joule brings a tonal richness and dimensionality to the sound that brings just a touch of what tube lovers love about tubes to a tube/ss combo - worked great driving a Pass XA30.5. Also works very well with the Atma-sphere OTLs and an solid option if the VSN amps are out of your price range - though you would probably opt for their own preamp.

Hello Pubul57,

tube/ss combo sounds very attractive but I tried a number of combinations and results were not always desirable. One, obvious reason, that many ss amps have low input impedance whereas many tube preamps(even excellent like BAT) have high output impedance. Others reasons probably play some role as well but I never know in advance.

I agree with you in regard to Joule not only because its variable impedance and rich vivid sound but also because its very user-friendly even for solid state lover. Its on "standby" 24/7 and with one flick of the switch you are ready (30 seconds) to listen to music and do not have to wait warm up. Another, re-tubing which all of us hate need to eb done once per 5-10 years. You also don;t need to search for best NOS - Joule owns the best and sell them for song.

You can extend their tube life span even more but you would need to speak with them directly, I don;t want to go there.