Hi Steve, Jaguar (above) is right on in his description of the SF Line 1 and 2 pre-amps. I own both-- they sound a lot alike; detailed, smooth, and very neutral as opposed to the "classic" tube sound of rich, warm, and romantic. The older SFL-1, with a NOS Mullard tube does have a rich warm character and can be had for $600. to $700. over the i-net. I used one for several years, and it is an excellent pre-amp. As the SFL-1 has only one tube, you could also experiment with other tubes inexpensively. The Line 1/2s can be warmed up with NOS tubes, but with 6 tubes in each, it's typically around $200. for a quality set. Contact Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio in LA, CA. for expert tube advice.
taking the plunge into tubes
I currently have an all-solid-state system, but would like to experiment with tube sound. Trying to decide between spending money on a tube preamp versus buying a tubed outboard DAC. We're looking for a more engaging, lusher sound that tubes are supposed to be noted for. We recently purchased a new Aragon 8008BB power amp, so replacing it with a tube power amp is out of the question -- for now :-). Here's the current system: Nakamichi MB-10 CD player; McCormack TLC-1 line stage preamp, Aragon 8008BB amp, PSB Stratus Gold-i speakers; Monster Interlink 400 interconnects, Goertz MI2 speaker cables. I'm thinking of something like the CAL Alpha tubed DAC with 24/96 D/A upgrade, or something like the Sonic Frontiers Line-1 tube preamp. Another alternative is the Ah! Tjoeb '99 tubed CD player. Any thoughts on direction to go? Thanks. Steve