Audible Illusions L-2 vs. Cary SLP-98

"As for someone paying $200-300 for premium tubes, we never heard of this."

Recently a pair of Holland "pinched waist" 6922s went for $800 on this site.

I, too have seen 7308, 6dj8, 6922 tubes getting costly.
The really primo ones are expensive, and tough (but not impossible) to get from reputable sources. I remember back when I was doing the Cary SLI-80/ Rogue Tempest shootout, I was having a tough time finding choice 6922 tubes under $100 each- although the ones that I did get my hands on were glorious. Dekay even donated a pair of USN/CEP Amperex 7308s, that I graciously returned to him when the Cary went on its way. What a Guy!!!

I remember from my research that the pinched waist tubes mentioned above are regarded by many as the "best" sounding, although it seems that different circuits would sound different with these tubes- also rumored to be rarer still because they are inherently microphonic for some reason. That price is too high for my blood, although many of our members have an insane amount of disposable income.

I can't imagine ever going that high for a set of line-tubes (maybe for a matched octet of great old 6550-kt88s...)

Stumpie, you have listened to the Cary in your system and liked the sound that you heard, and until you are able to audition the the AI L2 in your system, you will not be able to make a true evaluation between the two preamps.

Could the Audible Iliusions L2 be superior sounding over the Cary...you will have to be the judge. If you dont have a dealer near you, think about buying used and if you dont like what your hearing with the L2,you can sell it for little or no loss. This is just a thought.

From everything that I have read about the AI preamps, is that they are very hard on tubes..... execellent sounding but costly on tubes..... good luck on your quest.

kek

As I mentioned, I have never heard of someone using $300 tubes in THIS PREAMP. Most of the "Exotic" tubes will not hold up and are therefore left for other preamps. It's like everything else, you can pay a wad and it not perform any better---just different. Some enjoy the bloom of certain tubes. I didn't say they weren't multiple hundred dollar tubes available. This preamp is hard on some vintage tubes because it cuts through all the BS circuits. The AI web site warns you of this. They're not trying to hide anything and I'm trying to be realistic.

Phil!!
Hey man, I didn't remember until just now who was behind the Bigtee moniker.
I hope all is well in the lowcountry.