Should I Try a Tube Preamp?

Hope you enjoy them!

Here I am, a year later and many changes to my system. I went the DIY route for, mainly, two reasons: (1) I could gather better quality parts over time and save $$ using my labor to construct, and (2) The opportunity to learn - a little - about electronic components.

First, I constructed a Madisound speaker kit (Zaph|Audio ZRT 2-Way) which uses great Scan-Speak Revelator drivers. As the designer, John Krutke, says: "This is about as good as it gets for a 7" 2-way." These revealed a whole lot more detail, clarity and music than was available with my old speakers.

I then investigated various DIY preamp possibilities and "found" Roy Mottram of tubes4hifi who provided some much needed confidence (re. working on electroncis) and assembly help. I purchased, from Roy, John Broskie's Tetra phono and Aikido line stages and built my tube preamp. I eventually upgraded the tubes from the inexpensive ones I started with to NOS (and good/used) Telefunken and Amperex.

This start into the tube world got me interested in a new amplifier and so I obtained from Roy's partner, Bob Latino, his ST-120 VTA Dynaco-clone kit which I finished a couple of weeks ago.

I AM VERY HAPPY. My system has gone from a nice budget audio system to a superb music machine. It has it all: imaging, soundstage, detail, clarity, etc. I have had a great voyage of discovery (which of course is not over) and along the way learned a great deal - with the help of many - about speaker set-up, acoustics, electronics, music, (some Physics).

Ken...congrats and thanks for the update. Sounds like you have arrived at a nice place and you have taken the DIY route to get there, learning a whole bunch on the way. Good for you.

It is always interesting reading someone's opinion as to what to upgrade first. Speakers, pre-amp, amp, etc. In my experience, the greatest change and most enjoyable upgrade that I have heard was the speakers first. If your speakers are not very good, then everything else will not matter. A decent Yamaha pre-amp sounds wonderful through a decent amp and very good speakers. I have always recommended to my friends that desired to slowly go from mid-fi to low high end on up, to get decent speakers first. Then, the order after that really didn't matter. amp or pre-amp, it didn't matter the order of upgrade. But speakers made the most dramatic difference. However, in an attempt to eliminate any arguments or insults, please remember, I am talking about an upgrade from mid-fi to low high end. The beauty of the used equipment market is that for a very reasonable price (basically compared to brand new mid-mid-fi equipment) used equipment costs almosts the same. So realisticaly one can go from mid fi to decent older high end for about the same as a brand new mid fi system. For example, used Martin logan Sequel II's or Request are really not expensive and still sound wonderful. Just an example mind you. Then, get a decent pre-amp. Like everyone was suggesting above or a decent amp. order doesn't matter.

enjoy

An excellent and fairly inexpensive tube preamp is the Doge 8. At around $1,400 it is unbeatable and also has a fairly good phono section. But its linestage it what really shines.

I have a Doge 8 in a bedroom system and absolutely love it. You would have to go up to at least an Audio Horizon preamp at around $3,000 to be competitive.

Of course, if you could afford it, the Coincident Technology Linestage at $5,000 is unbelievably great, with its only shortcoming being its two inputs. One really has to re-think their front end (source components) when using this pre-amp.

Greg

Greg