Mcintosh last forever retaines it's value and has tube. I have the 12000. Its either tube or solid state.read the review as it stated one of the best pre amps tested. Best of both worlds and clean quiet. Also have dagostino enjoy the hunt.
Another tube preamp "What should I buy" question.
I’m looking for a preamp to last me for the next 20 years - a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend big. Have a Holo Spring DAC, and will never have a turntable so linestage only. It’s to feed a Michi S5 power amp, into a pair of Cornwalls.
I’m close to pushing the button on a McIntosh MC2700. But why not the Prima Luna Evo 400 Pre? Or (and this is a wildcard) a Leben preamp? Love the idea of a Manley Neo Classic 300B but am concerned of reports of hum that the Cornwalls would only accentuate.
I know this kind of question has been asked many times before on this forum, but what’s the current view? Does anyone have an informed opinion one way or the other?
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@emergingsoul That made me laugh - thanks! Get a puppy indeed. I went from Krell to Primaluna in the last few years and am mostly happy with it. I chose the Primaluna over the ARC due to the massive PITA tax (Pain In The ASS) if a valve blows with the ARC gear. I do think the ARC 5 and above sound better than the Primaluna by a bit. (and then incrementally better the farther up you move) I was happy with this until I heard the Spatial Raven. That is the best pre I have ever heard. Full stop. Unfortunately, those are North America only and cannot be run the EU without a step-up converter which I am not willing to add to my chain. All of the above are good recommendations. You just have to choose which flavour you desire. Add Don Sachs to your list if one ever comes up for sale - it is my understanding that this is the pre-cursor to the Spatial Raven, although I could be wrong on this. I am sure someone will be more than happy to correct me if I am. Have fun with the search and I am happy for you that you are in the enviable position to choose what you like without a cost factor to be concerned with. Cheers! |
I recently upgraded from the Rogue Audio RP-7 v1 to the RP-9 v2, and the improvement was quite significant in terms of imaging, tonal qualities, and sound stage. The RP-9 uses the 6HP30 tube (which in Cyrillic is actually a 6NR30), four of them, which is the same tube that Audio Research uses in its tube preamplifiers. Quite simply, from a "acoustic/visual" standpoint, the music is not coming from the speakers, which are Fyne F-702s in my case. Given my age, this is my final preamp purchase, I am that satisfied with it. |
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