2. amps-preamps
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TRL Dude or Joule 150 MKII for Major Pre Upgrade

Thinking of either of these for what I view as a huge pre upgrade in my system. Current system is:

-Celestion A3
-Krell KAV250a (500 wpc/4 ohms).
-Nohr CD-1
-Rotel 995 preamp

I am looking to pickup warmth, depth and much more soundstage. Quality bass is also important to me. I want to keep the Celestions and feel that my current pre is the weakest link. Will also will update my digital source and ss amp down the road.

My thinking is that it will be worth paying up a bit for a higher quality pre that I can grow into.

Also I have a small naive question...with either of these pre amps will the sound difference be that great compared to the Rotel.

Thanks...any comments are appreciated.

-Iggy
iggy7
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I really wanted to try a RM10 and asked about buying two in mono block form. It has now been 5 days and no answer. This scares me. Oh well, I bet it is an awesome amp based on many comments by owners.

The Dude photo on the website is old and the old style. The new Dude can be custom made with dual volume or one volume knob. Paul will build it as you like. Mine has one volume knob and 4 - 6sn7 tubes instead of two for slightly more gain. This 4 - 6sn7 design option is not needed for the vast majority of folks, but worked well with my power hungry Soundlab speakers.

The Dude is not small, but a 70 pound beast . The circuit is Paul's and really simple but robust beyond any other pre I have seen.
facten
2,726 posts
 
If you google Music Reference or try to get there from teh Agon link the web page doesn't seem to exist,maybe that's why you aren't hearing back
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Love 6sn7 line stages for some reason!
Post removed 
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
Paul answers his phone and will always get back right away and help. I must say this is not true of all small "one man" companies. I have still not heard back from Roger at Music Reference and I emailed/called to actually buy his amps - RM10.I decided to buy another amp now. He is one example and unfortunately I know of many others in this business. Paul will respond to customers.
Interesting!!! Seriously considering RM300 after getting the KT-120 results from Roger.

I have similar experiences with Paul. His gears are reliable and built to last many lifetimes plus EXCELLENT sound.
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