Ideal preamp for Krell FPB 200

Thor TA 1000 or 1000 MK II.

or some other tube preamp.

It sure looks special Blindjim!
Do you have experience with the Krell poweramp, as I did not find it in your system?

Years ago, yes. Krell was the amp in my very first system. Due to not having a good tube preamp I sold it at a considerable loss... couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

had I a good tube preamp like I do now... it may well have sstayed far longer. Might be here still for all I know.

A friend of mine has had exactly the 200 in his home a couple times and absolutely loved it.... with his former BAT vk5i preamp. I also had a vk5i preamp.

the Thor is vastly superior to the BAT vk5i.

thor not only looks, but really IS expensive too!
I am looking for something in the 1500 euro range secondhand price :)

Well, yeah, there's that. Thor even preowned can be costly, ranging from $3K to $4K. But worth every penny though. if you ever got one, you'd quit thinking about other preamps though.

Depending on the sound you want to shoot for, I've heard some CJ preamps which sell new for not much more than $1500 that I wouldn't mind owning.... at that price. new of course. I just can't get used to the switffing sound it makes as the volume increases or decreases.

VTL has some well regarded units you can get in that area.

the thing I've found is this, Keeping things comensurate with one another sure does help. Although a bit aged... your amp went new for what, 6 or 7K? Why then put a 2K or so preamp on it? it's pretty neutral and reflects what it is given... so attaching a very very good source, and as well a preamp will surely aid you sonically.

Were it me... I'd not pitch that wad into another lesser pre if it meant only waiting a few more months or so to have the funds needed to get a better one outright.

The Antique Sound Labs "Flora" got very nice reviews from the mags and people here in the personal reviews section.

Another thought is ARC or AR... I believe they offer pre's with balanced outputs... and of course there's the newer BAT pres which are truly fully balanced, front to back.

Good luck in any case.

thanks for the suggestions blindjim, I would spend 2 K on a used preamp, so it should be in the 6-7K class new...
or do you think the preamps have evolved so much that its better to simply spend 2 K new price?
The thing is that my preamps tends to sound good on the old amp... only phono stage lacking somewhat.
My idea was to buy a preamp with very good phonostage (instead of just a separate phono preamp) and hope that its linestage would be as good or better then my current preamp. and be a better match for the krell...
I did own a krell krc preamp once, and sonically it was a bit less agressive then mine, highs were softer and there was more bass, but soundstage depth and emotionality were better with my currenty preamp.
I would like to stick to well known brands here in europe as it is easier to sell them in case of a mismatch...

I would think the next step up or two from a BAT VK5i would be a good choice.

Blueskywalker

I also had a krell preamp in my past. I agree with you... and find tubes better suited to that amp.

I’m not really up on the Euro models apart from some that may well not fit your price range. Audio Note comes to mind. There’s some input here on some German makes too.

Usually a combo preamp that is NOT the top tier model combo preamp allows some sufferage in it’s phono stage. Normally the preamp only section gets the goodies, and the phono area just gets what is needed. This is not to say ALL combo preamps are this way… though my feel of the situation is dedicated phono preamps are normally best suited to those ends.

There are a number of brands which translate well internationally, like VAC, BAT, LLamm, CAT, and some French makes too. I’ve no exp with Phono stage preamps as I don’t do LPs. The ones I’ve listed here all get great press and there’s a wealth of info around here… I’d check out the archives by searching for phono preamps or the like… rather than a subjective account on a best match for the FPB 200…. It may prove out as a quicker more apt thread.

EAR too makes some good stuff from what I’ve read, and I thought well about getting into one of them a while back. Joulle Electra was suggested strongly to me when I bought my BAT VK5i.

Good luck

thanks very much for the suggestions Samzx12 and especially you Blindjim for the elaborate explanation, I will take note of the brands mentioned and will indeed do a search of the archives already here.
One of the best preamps I ever heard by the way, was a Nagra PL-P... gorgeous but sooooo expensive
cheers

One other suggestion, an Aesthetix Calypso; a combo I am using in my system, with an FPB300c power amp. This works extremely well together giving just the right balance of warmth in the mid-range, rich mid bass and retaining excellent resolution and clarity in the top end, together with superb all-round sound-stage performance.