2. amps-preamps
  3. 1387859978

Tube preamp for SS amp

6922, 6H30 or 6SN7 decisions decisions. What sounds good to me might not sound so good to somebody else....I get it, but is there a tube preamp/solid state amp that is not a good match sonically (running a pass labs x250.5 and bryston 4bsst2). I can drive 2hrs and audition some ACR equipment however that's it. Everything else would be purchased out of state and most places will have to special order something else in (ie modwright ls100, cj ET3SE, audible illusions...) and will only take the equipment back for store credit.
chad2635

Showing 2 responses by lloydelee21

lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Hi Chad,

Always a challenge...good luck. I can only share my own experience. the newer CJ (ET3SE and GAT) have SS-like output impedances which can work extremely well with SS amps and Tube amps. GAT is 100ohm and the general rule I am told is 10x this figure for the input impedance of your amp. Personally, I owned the ACT 2 (6H30)...and now the CJ GAT...6922... and I think there is no comparison. Jeff Day, Myles Astor have said so in print, and I know Myles (who owned ART 3 for 12 year)...never went for the ACT 2 but DID go for the GAT in the end, finding it superior. Jeff concurs, and so does Turntable who is also here, and had the ART and now CJ GAT. My two cents. Good luck. BTW, CJET3SE has similar output impedance and thus should also be fine with SS amps.
lloydelee21
1,202 posts
 
Chad, I am no techie, but I think CJ make quite a big deal of their volume attenuator, indicating they use a discrete resistor for each volume increment to attenuate the volume (in 0.7db increments all the way through)...somehow preserving the integrity of the signal by having just the one resistor at that increment? AT least that what I could make out of it...sorry for not reading it properly if I got this wrong. Its on their website. Perhaps there are better ways to attenuate, but as people like to say, its often about the implementation than the theory anyway. Hope you get a chance to hear the CJ ET3SE...if it sounds as close the GAT as people say, then it should be quite a special preamp.
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