Best solid state pre-amp below US $ 10.000,00 ??

This has been an interesting thread with lots of expected recommendations. Now that the focus has shifted to also include tube units, it makes the quest a lot more fun.

Dgad's comment, "If you are happy w. the Audio Aero direct, I am sure a preamp won't make it better, just different", is unfortunately not quite the case. A local (Minneapolis) audiophile has the AA CDP. When we inserted my Aestheix Callisto Signature line stage in his system, there was such a huge improvement to the dimension, decays and realism to the presentation. I never would have believed this had I not heard it. You had to listen with great focus to hear the very minimal loss of resolution brought on by the Callisto. Removing the Callisto made it immediately clear the dimenisonality was gone. We also tried my previous BAT 31SE which clearly had more signal loss than the Callisto but again, it too brought on similar qualities as did the Callisto that the system with no line stage simply was lacking. It's not only about dynamics.

Hopefully you will get a chance to hear the Janus which is much the Calypso and Rhea units in one product. If you want to get an idea of the Calypso's musicality, read Jadem6's review of this. A few weeks after he wrote this, we compared his Calypso and my Callisto Sig in both our systems. He wrote a review on this shortly thereafter. He does a phenomenol job to describe these units. Both units have a nearly identical tonality but the Callisto brings on an ability to control the bass that neither of us have heard another tube line stage too. And the Callisto is miles ahead in its terms of portraying instrument and stage size, decays of the notes and the microdynamics most likely brought on by the size of all this. Once you hear this, it is tough if not impossible to go back to the Calypso or anything you heard before it. The ML, Spectral, Ayre, e.g., will not even come close to the Callisto in this regard.

I realize you want a full-function unit with built-in phono stage, but perhaps the option of separate line and phono stages would be worth some investigation.

If $10k is in your range, I would still seriously keep my eyes out for a VAC unit. The Renaissance often goes for much less and this has gotten praise from all over. And one last unit to consider is the upcoming full function preamp by Michael Elliot....the Aria WV preamp. Check it out on www.ariaaudio.com. If you remember all the praise of the Counterpoint SA9 & SA11 of 15 years ago, imagine what a modern all-out-assault by the designer of those units might be.

John

Dgad - I fully understand what you have posted here and agree with your comments. As described above, my experiences parallel those of Tvad. And with vinyl as my primary source, driving my DAC into my amps is not really an option even if this was the "better" way to go. Indeed the final result comes down to a system, not an individual component.

The issue of "best" is always a personal thing. For one person, this could describe the ultimate extraction of information and clarity the source material has to offer. For others, it comes down to taking the listener to the performance with the portrayal of the characterizations described by Tvad.

How does inserting a tube line stage into a system so magically bring back the dimensionality of piano, sax, guitar, voice, etc.? I have no idea but I quit worrying as to the how and why. All I have to do is go upstairs and hit some piano keys to know that the audio system with the line stage far more accurately renders the characteristics of the piano than when the line stage is removed.

If the manufactured LP or CD has lost some of the dimensionality and decays of the music, and a tubed line stage, phono stage or amp helps to bring this back, with a minimal amount of lost resolution and "transparency", then for me, it is well worth the end result.

As Artg, Jadem6 and I have discussed many times, with our comparative listening sessions of many different preamps, amps, CDP's, etc., it takes a lot of effort to achieve a system balance of resolution, dynamics and dimensionality. When it comes to line stages, so far the Aesthetix Callisto Signature does this like no other I have heard. Now with Art's excitement of the Nagra, I will be eager to hear this as well.

Frankpiet: Based on the descriptions you made of the Nagra and CAT, it indeed sounds like the Janus fits right in the middle. My comment is based on my experience with the Calypso. You can only know for sure if you hear it for yourself. The Calypso build quality is quite impressive. So the Janus should be the same. These do not have the industrial look of the Callisto and Io. But these latter pieces are special in their own ways. And concerning the build quality of the CAT SL-1, I never found this to be an issue. So I am puzzled with your findings here.

John