Warm Preamp

Have you tried a Plinius preamp?

Older ARC preamps are warm. I like my BAT VK5i alot and maybe a VK3i might be the ticket?

Conrad-Johnson makes a full line up but their Preamps are what they are best known for IMHO. From the ART on down great pieces to listen to. Their older line up is probably a bit warmer

Older cj tubed pre's are more tube-like (premier 14 and earlier) their newer stuff(premier 17 and later) are more analytical IMO. Cary also makes a great pre and are more tube-like in their presentation. From what I have heard ARC and BAT are more analytical in their presentation but great pre's nonetheless

Chuck

I agree with CJ and Rogue for tube warmth. I would also recommend Cary and Audio Mirror, both of which produce very seductive, warm tube preamps.

Michael

I've been on the same search myself for a couple of years...but I want warmth AND detail, and finding the right mix hasn't been all that easy. I would say ARC's are generally out, except for older ones, like the SP8. Years ago I had CJ gear, and I recently bought an old PV5, which is having some work done on it, but the buzz on it is that it's about as warm as you get...maybe too warm. I tried Cary gear, and would not recommend the SLP98--the one I had was wired with silver wire and was not warm. (I hate the sound of silver wire, but I guarantee that some people will say I'm crazy if I didn't think the SLP98 wasn't the warmest thing imaginable.) The SLP2002 was not bad, but in the end, didn't really quite get where I wanted. Same with a couple of Joule preamps (in fact, the LAP 150 is in many respects wonderful, but just a bit too much fizz at the top.) I kept hearing that BAT gear was "dark" so I thought that might work, and now use a BAT VK31, NOT the SE version. (The SE versions have the Russian "super tubes" in them, and seem a bit cold to me.) I put Amperex Bugle Boy tubes in it, and it's pretty darn nice.

Good luck, and tell us what you end up with.