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Seriously considering tube preamp…opinions?

Tube virgin, here. I am building a system and I'm trying to contain the preamp/amp cost to $3k or so. (I could go up a little.) 

I'm inclined not to dive into tubes all the way through, but get a solid state on the output end. (Open to suggestions; inclined toward PS Audio, Parasound.) I'm reading around about tube preamps and have talked with my local dealer, who sells Black Ice/Jolida and Prima Luna (PL). He used to carry Rogue but said they kept coming back for repairs. That's why he carries PL.

I'm asking these questions after having established (via reviews, comments) that Schiit gear is quite the value. Lately, I've been reading about Decware and other small tube makers. I'm very curious about buying direct, if possible, and a company that stands behind their products is crucial.

So, your opinions about tube integrated or *especially* tube preamps —

1. Who do you like? Consider I want to do pre/amp for a total of $3k if possible.

2. Do you think PL is worth all that money just for a preamp? I get the feeling they're high quality but a bit over-hyped. (No disrespect to the highly passionate Kevin Deal, but he's all over my search results.) And what would you think about $2k/$1k preamp-to-amp spending ratio?

3. Any sense of what happened to Jolida since the name change to "Black Ice"? I see there's a sordid story there but did the re-branding clear up the mess? Any experiences with the Black Ice company?

4. I know there are many Schiit fans out there; so my question would be -- did anyone consider Schiit for tube preamp and go another way? Or move beyond Schiit for any particular reason? It's hard not to just capitulate and do a Freya+ or Saga+ but why wouldn't one just go with Schiit?




128x128hilde45
markum01
125 posts
 
Dehavilland Ultraverve 3 is what I have it blew my Manley Labs 300B neoclassic preamp out of the water. 
Like another poster said you MUST! Understand the input and output impedance for matching tube preamps with solid state amps.
Look up Dehavilland Electric Amplifier Co. Kara is the designer, builder CEO, CFO, chief bottle washer all of the above . She is great to deal with and has always been responive to my questions.
Happy Listening
Mark


andy2
1,522 posts
 
After listening to tube and solid state preamps, I have to say there is something about tubes that make musics come alive.  It's hard to put it in words.  Check out some Conrad Johnson stuffs.
mazian's avatar
mazian
348 posts
 
Van Alstine, Belles, DeHavilland or Modwright - they are all great so take your pick.
oldschool1948's avatar
oldschool1948
488 posts
 
I moved from a NAD M12 pre/DAC NAD M22v2 power amp combo to a used Herron VTSP-3A (r02) tube pre amp and Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE DAC with the M22v2.  That combination works very well with my speakers. If you can find a used Herron in the ~2.5K, it might be worth looking into.
plaw
79 posts
 
I had an ARC LS27 - beautiful (recently upgraded to another ARC).  I tried a Parasound Halo P-6 (solid-state), awful, lost $500 in 30 days with that piece.  I auditioned a Rogue Audio from http://crescendoaudio.net/ - a RP-7.  I think they marked the demo down to $3K with a warranty.  Sounded GREAT but would not do home theater bypass with XLR, just RCA - they said this could be fixed, but I found a used ARC in the meantime - loved the Rogue though.  There was a Cary Audio SP-5 - never heard it but sure looks cool - it was going for $3K on Ebay.
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