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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
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,450 posts
 
If you can do without remote a c-j Classic 2SE is in your price range, this is a seriously good value used....Quicksilver Audio makes 2 preamps in your price range, one is remote the other is not. Quicksilver gear is all point to point wiring. To me this is more important with a tube amp, I have had amps where the circuit trace was damaged when a cathode resistor failed following a tube failure.  P2P is often easier to repair.    Prima Luna is nice sounding gear, dont get me wrong.  I auditioned my speakers on several amps one being a PL el34 but two things turned me off . Made in China and distributed by Kevin Deal.   I couldnt even get that guy to return my call to buy something, and im talking several emails and three conversations with his staff ,what about after sale support?   No thanks.

I think if you are going to buy new you should check out Quicksilver. Its made in usa, point to point wiring, excellent build quality. I have a pair of QS amps and they are awesome, sound great, super reliable.
Three year warranty... I just bought the new QS headphone amp, sight unseen because I know it will be worth every penny.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,783 posts
 
That’s great, @oddiofyl . I will go look for those -- very simple unit. I suppose that keeps costs low and noise out. (Was looking at Parasound and what a difference in the feature set. I suppose one just goes a different direction with these sort of things.) Will look for the CJ, too.

I suppose QS can advise about a solid state amp, too. I think that's the combo I'd want.

One additional question occurs -- if down the road, the QS doesn’t seem right for my evolving system, how’s are they to re-sell? Do people want them or are they niche/hard to sell?
jburidan
803 posts
 
Dennis Had Inspire preamp. Hand made in the U.S.

PL is all hype IMHO. Made in Red China.




dodgealum
1,398 posts
 
VTSP 3A (R03) I think Keith sells 10 times the number of phonostages than linestages (I have both) but the line stage is just as spectacular as the much praised VTPH-2a
scothurwitz
113 posts
 
Hi Hilde45

The name for tube preamps that keeps coming up is Don Sachs. It’s nearly impossible to find a bad word ever written about this gentleman or his best preamp. The more I read about it the more impressed I became with it. The product is sold direct only, the only way to keep the cost as reasonable as it is. His newest model sells for $2500.00 usd. Based on all that has been written about it’s supposed to sound fantastic. He takes into consideration which the amp you plan on using with it so he can tailor the output caps to be a perfect match. The reliability is also supposed to be rock solid. If you email him he responds within a day or two every time. He also has a ok return policy which, I believe is 14 days but you don’t get your money back immediately from what I understand. I think he returns your money only after he re-sells it. At first this was a little disconcerting but I get it, he runs on super low margins and his reputation is excellent. I don’t think he gets many of them returned though as his customers all rant and rave about this thing. If I were you, I would look into it. Best of luck.

Scot
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