I am not a tube preamp expert by any stretch but I believe I struck gold upon my first venture into tubes. I purchased a AE-3 DJH signature (cary) preamp. This preamp is not the soft or rolled off variety of tube preamp. It is dynamic and has an open sound. I have owned the Krell integrated and the Krell KRC3 preamp. While I enjoyed both of those units, I much prefer the sound of this little AE-3 preamp. I have experimented with tube rolling and it does further improve its sound. In a head to head comparison in my system I thought it bettered the VTL 5.5. It is important to realize that this preamp is not real flexible having only 3 inputs and only one set of outputs (RCA only).
tube pre suggestion
Hi Everyone,
I'm currently running an all nuforce system with the P8 preamp and the ref 9SE (currently v1, soon to be v2) amps. I have this hooked to Thiel PCS speakers.
I'd like to dump the nuforce pre and try something else. I've heard that a tubed pre is the way to go with my amps...a buddy of mine who I trust heard the Modwright SWL 9.0 SE with the nuforce amps and said it was incredible.
I'm new to experimenting with preamps--my other system has a Krell integrated so I've never needed to play with in this area. Any suggestions on where to start? My budget is $1500-$2k, and I'm thinking used market exclusively to maximize my value.
Comments from the Audiogon Gurus are appreciated!
I'm currently running an all nuforce system with the P8 preamp and the ref 9SE (currently v1, soon to be v2) amps. I have this hooked to Thiel PCS speakers.
I'd like to dump the nuforce pre and try something else. I've heard that a tubed pre is the way to go with my amps...a buddy of mine who I trust heard the Modwright SWL 9.0 SE with the nuforce amps and said it was incredible.
I'm new to experimenting with preamps--my other system has a Krell integrated so I've never needed to play with in this area. Any suggestions on where to start? My budget is $1500-$2k, and I'm thinking used market exclusively to maximize my value.
Comments from the Audiogon Gurus are appreciated!