New tube preamp

One more thing. Have you tried running your system without a pre (maybe thru your DAC, etc) and see what kind of sound you are getting? I'm just not certain switching Pre amps at the price level of BHK will provide jaw dropping differences. You already tried tube rolling. One other thing, is 30 (4 ohm) solid state watts enough for your 83 db speakers?

Hi aberyclark

I do not have a volume control on the dac so I can’t run it directly into the amp. I have tried that several times with other DACs in the past but never thought it sounded better. I am the type of listener that feels the preamp is one of the most important pieces of gear in a system. 

I never tried tube tube rolling though. I did replace the stock factory tubes (after about 300 hours) and bought some nos Telefunken 12au7’s from the early 60’s and they completely transformed the BHK pre, I was shocked at how much better the sound got from top to bottom.

I recently bought some other nos vintage tubes from the 50’s and 60’s and I’m going to try those and see what I get. The BHK allows you to change a jumper inside that lets you experiment with some 6 volt tubes such as 6922, 7308, 7dj8’s (Bascom’s favorites). It also has another internal jumper that allows you to increase bias from 4 to 5 milliamps and the people who have tried it said they couldn’t believe the improvement they got from such a seemingly small change. So, I think the next thing I’m going to do is start with one change at a time and take my time and listen without jumping to any premature conclusions. I’ve never been a big believer in a quick a/b comparison. If I make a change I give it at least a week or two, too easy to be fooled into which is “better” and not just different.

The Pass amp I have (XA30.8) is class ‘a’ at 30 wpc @ 8 ohms and doubles to 60 wpc @ 4 ohms and doubles again to 120 @ 2 ohms and still has 12 dB of headroom! The amp is simply amazing for the money and not only does it drive those 83 dB speakers effortlessly but always remains musical. It’s the best sounding amp I’ve ever owned and I’ve had a lot of good amps over the last 40 years. 

I appreciate your your thought and input.

scot

My BHK improved quite a bit with Gold Lion tubes.

One prior owner of 07x told me to ls27 arc was much better. Another told me a mid tier mcintosh integrated preamp section was better. Just fyi.

Any updates?