Preamps: Rogue v. VTL v. Blue Circle


OK, I am a bit of all over the map in terms of price, but I am looking for best value, not necessarily within a specific budget. WOuld like to be under $2K though. Buying used.
My candidates are:
Rogue 66 and 99 Magnums
VTL 2.5 and 5.5 (someone told me the VTLs have reliability issues. True?)
Blue Circle 21.1

No phono required. Where would you cast your votes in terms of value? I like a transparent enough, but not too revealing preamp, slight tubey character but not too much, and large soundstage depth and width. Good extension on both ends also a factor.
Help?
kck

Showing 1 response by gunbei

I think Devon may be on to something with his suggestion of going with a used Galatea instead of the BC21.1.

The BC21.1 is a replacement of the BC21 which I own. The main differences are the use of two 6922 tubes instead of the two 6SN7s in the BC21, but that was necessitated by the lack of quality 6SN7 tubes. The other difference is the addition of the Shallco attenuator.

A used Galatea mkI also has an improved external power supply which should give it an edge over the BC21.1.

I like a tubey sound in my preamp so I'm contemplating having my BC21 outfitted with the BC21.1 improvements and incorporating an external power supply as well.

Recently, I've been comparing several different "best value" preamps and one that may fit your sonic criteria is the BAT VK3i. It has a very expanded soundstage and a slightly tubey nature unlike the rounder sounding BC21. It's a large piece of gear and accepts only balanced connections, so I'm not sure if this is something that will work for you.

Good luck!