2. amps-preamps
  3. 154690-139155

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
phd
1,277 posts
 
Now that you got around 200 recommendations, I hope this has made it a little easier on which one to get.
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,549 posts
 
Best of luck, in your preamp search!

 I would love a nice tube pre for my amp, but, time, and reliability, plus cost is a huge crutch for me.

 I’ll stic w my aging SS preamps.

enjoy the ride!
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,778 posts
 
200 suggestions! Feels like it. Some people have been repeatedly helpful to me -- had a lot of experience with different gear and have been willing to consider what I need. I really appreciate that.

I actually created a master document with suggestions which were well-reasoned or which many people mentioned. I created a multi-page table populated with brands and important criteria.

Here are a few general lessons I've taken away, as they made sense to me: 

  • Tube gear costs more than I initially expected but there are good used deals out there, real values. It is not unaffordable.
  • Some tube gear holds its value forever (Sachs, deHavilland, Herron) other gear becomes quite easy to find discounted.
  • Tube watts are different, but low sensitivity speakers are going require a lot of $$ for comfortable amounts of tube-power
  • Tubes are everywhere. In preamps/amps, in DAC's, in CD players. (In MIGs!)
  • It is hard to know how many components with tubes to get — at just the preamp level or at multiple levels. (E.g. should I get a tube DAC if I have a tube preamp? Probably need to experiment and not assume one way or another.)
  • Impedance-matching between different preamp and amp brands isn't technically hard, but synergy is a trickier guess if one cannot audition. Many will tell you what worked for them, but the speakers, etc. are additional variables which complicate the match. (Not to mention room, cables, etc.)
  • Tubes can sound like SS and vice versa, within limits. Nice sounding SS (to approach the softness of tubes) can be very expensive.
  • In the preamp/amp combination, Tube/SS is much more advisable than SS/Tube.
  • Some say "all you need is a tube preamp" others say, "go tubes all the way"


lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,052 posts
 
@hilde45,

All good points,

I would steer clear of linear sounding tubes in preamp or amps if you want to enjoy and experience rich harmonic ‘distortions’ associated with good tube gear....otherwise stick with SS gear.

The pre/amp combination, Tube/SS will greatly depends on efficiency of your full range speakers. The higher efficiency, say 96dB will give you greater flexibility in SS or Tube amplification. Less than 96dB, say 92dB efficiency SS amp is the way to go. Some full range speakers even dip down to 2-3 ohms load, for those you need a good wattage power amp to handle the peaks.

I went from 92db to 96db speakers and couldn’t be any happier. I can drive my speakers with 8W SET, 30W class A or 200W class A/B amps.

Hope this helps!
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,778 posts
 
@lalitk I thought I had made an all-tube setup possible by going for 90db speakers. I see how 96db would give *greater flexibility* for amps, but you’re also saying that if less than 96db then SS is the way to go?
More to discover