Canary Audio Preamps Any Good?


Canary tube preamps appear to offer good build quality for the money, especially on the second hand market. It is therefore surprising there isn’t much info on this brand throughout the web — not many user or “pro” reviews. What’s the deal? Do they not perform well? 
 

 

helomech

I had the CA160 monoblocks a few years ago. Great sounding amps until one of the output transformers blew. I'm sure the preamps are very nice too.

I have the Canary Grand Reference 300B Mono amps with 16 Western Electric 300B tubes. The sound is glorious. It may be overkill in my case as I have 98db speakers. I could part with them for something smaller.

If they are any bit as good as their amps, you can't go wrong. I have the M 350 Mono blocks hooked to  a Cary slp 98 p and the combo is excellent. 

@jaymark 

That's a beauty. It makes me drool. I have the entry level model and it sounds better than any other pre I've owned. I can only imagine how good it is.

Canary makes fine sounding tube preamps. I own their 4 box monoblock preamp.

I bought a used one from Peter at PBN Audio a couple of months ago, and even though it's the lowest model, it is the best pre I have owned. Before buying it, I spoke with a Canary dealer, and he explained that even though he thought that they were the best pre's around, he was liquidating his stock because the owner of the company does not promote the brand and they are therefore very hard to sell. 

I really love mine and I would recommend the brand. And yes, they are beautifully laid out inside.