Good Preamp for Emerald Physics 2.3

I’m using a combination of an Audio Horizon tube DAC and TRL Dude preamp. The EP 2.3’s are very neutral and reveling speakers. They have Titanium tweeters which can be a bit bright with the wrong equipment - but with the right combination of tube source(s), cables and SS amps they are quite amazing. I have the DBX 260 and not the Behringer. I have found it to respond very well to upstream changes - tube rolling to be more specific. It has other minor flaws but does not add “brightness” to the mix in my system. If you have digital sources I can’t imaging not having tubes somewhere within the mix. I would NOT recommend TRL for a variety of reasons, but you might want to give Audio Horizons a call as they have tube dac’s, pre-amps and some other tube warmth gadget. I think they also offer a 30-day trial option.

Strange thing is there is hardly any feedback out there specific to the Spaital products and our speakers. I for one am not going down that road unless I'm able to demo and compare the product in my own system. The requirement of having a MAC configured with their software only makes a demo that much more of a challenge.

I've been after Cullen to provide an upgrade path for the DBX 260 but no luck. Any suggestions on how to improve 0n this active xover?

Rclassen:

I have heard nothing but great feedback on the Orpheus, its capabilities and sound quality. This however comes at a hefty price when you get into the Spatial paradigm.

How can a tube preamp would make a Behringer-driven CS2.3 system worse? Inserting a good quality tube preamp (with quality vintage tubes) in just about any system can make a profound impact on body, weight and warmth.

Please explain.

Investing 3x or more the resale value of these crossovers makes no financial sense. You would be lucky to get 25% of the upgrade cost back if you were to sell it. Interested however in feedback from those who went down crossover upgrade path as to the sonic benefits.

It’s unfortunate that the recent 6moons review focused on Spatial rather that the base CS2.3 with the Behringer. What about the DBX vs. the Behringer? 2.7 vs 2.3? There are some of us that can’t (or won’t) go down the Spatial path.

A decent review of the base product might have gone a long way to help answer the original question of this thread.

At some point I'm going to look at other options. I believe I have found a solution for the line leveling and gain/hiss issue on the active xover side. Final testing should be completed next weekend. I'll post the results on the other thread. Traveling a lot so have not had much time. Then on to my pre-amp issues.