Your All Time Favorite Preamplifiers?

[joeling]

My museum piece is the ARC 40th anniversary. Retired this unit a few year ago but will probably not ever sell this.

 

[XV-1]

GAT maybe great, but the Cj ART was SOTA in its time.

I owned ART and ART3. The GAT is the better sounding preamp.

Cheers

 

[kjartanb]

Today I use use miniDSP Flex eight as pre, dac, crossover, dsp etc... Sounds really transparent/nautral on my horns.

 

[Geert1962]

My All Time Favorite Preamp is the Thrax Libra. This Preamp brings live music at your home. Expensive but worth every penny.
For more info please take a look here: https://www.thraxaudio.com/libra.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Besides the CAT Legend SL1 that i own for many years already
my other favourites :

The Gryphon Apex pre amp .
R Koda
CH precision
FM Acoustics
Audio research
Mark levinson 32
Octave

Not necessarily all in this order.
Lamm could be well on that list , but not much exposure unfortunately

 

[DoctorWhy]

Would you say the Nagra HD is your personal fave Pre?

YES

 

[mtemur]

Audio Consulting silver rock
Kondo G-1000

 

[Kingrex]

I got my First Sound Mark IIISii back from being updated about 05-01-23. I ran it for weeks 24x7 with the DAC feeding it music. I cycled the power and discharged the caps as well.
Last weekend an audiophile friend was over for a listen. He was floored by the soundstage. How well placed everything was. I wasn't really sure what he was talking about. It always seemed pretty good in that regard.
Yesterday my wife went to the office. How nice to have her out of the house after 2 plus years of her office dominating our personal space. Anyhow, I was able to do paperwork and passively play music with the occasional break where I sit for a listen and adjust the volume to proper levels. Holly Mother of WOW. I am blown away by this preamp. I always thought it was one of the best I had heard. Now its just over the top. I have a sound stage like one I heard in a room in room last year. But never in my living space.

Could there be some other with more clarity. Sure, but if one were to go down that road, then that thought would lead one right to using a Mini DSP SHD. You can't argue that time, phase and EQ adjustment are not critical in playback. If your all about say a passive pre and absolute clarity, then you should also be about optimum launch of the sound wave that is adjusted for room interactions.

I personally look for what makes my toes tap while being lost in the music. I'm not obsessing on the science behind it. I am trusting (Owe God) the designers are educated in that reguard and doing it right. Hence, I don't DSP. I have tries passive. Heck, First Sound used to be about passive. He was praised as having one of the best passive. He said it wasn't musicl enough, so now he makes an active preamp. I also had McIntosh, Rogue, Air Tight, Thrax, Kosmic, SME in my system. I like First Sound. Enough so I get up and change the volume when I have too.

 

[godofwealth]

My current two favorite preamps are (I’ve owned dozens of preamps over the past 30+ years, from the first ARC Ref 1 to the mighty two box Mark Levinson 32):

1. Tube: ARC Ref 6SE: balanced tube preamp, the 3rd I’ve owned from ARC. Much warmer in its tonality than the Ref 1 owned 25+ years ago. Beautifully built as only ARC can manage. Much nicer built than my previous ARC Ref 3, which has been relegated to my bedroom system.

2. Mola Mola Makua with built-in DAC and phono stage: The Makua is a true preamp for the 21st century, the most innovative, the most flexible and the nicest preamp interface I have yet seen in 35+ years of owning many such products. Every parameter can be set from its iOS app on your apple iPhone. The app is brilliant and sets the standard. I’m now spoiled by this minimalistic looking yet stunningly beautiful preamp. It makes every other preamp look like a Stone Age device. Want to run 7 different cartridges with different vinyl equalizations, 5 digital front ends, and your Roon server at the same time? No sweat. Want to change the setting of your 3rd phono input from your armchair in the next room? Piece of cake. The DAC is the same as the world class Tambaqui, except it’s even better according to designer Brian Putzeys since it replaces the digital volume control in the Tambaqui with a class A gain stage. The phono module is archival grade and not only the most flexible phono stage I have ever used in 30+ years, but the quietest. It’s the best solid state phono stage I have heard.

The ARC 6SE is old school tubes, warm and romantic. The Makua is neutral without sounding clinical, and very revealing but enjoyable. It’s the Yin to the Yang. Both are highly recommended.

 

[Another Johnson]

My first favorite was the original McIntosh C22. It was incredible compared to its contemporaries. Have owned other McIntosh preamps, but the original C22 was special for its day.

The CJ PV5 blew me away compared to anything else at the time. I loved it. It led to my buying many CJ preamps, including PV8, PV11, and experimenting with CJ’s Teflon caps, all to good effect.

The Krell KSP-7B was also a favorite. It matched well with my Krell KSA amps. Those were great systems.

The CJ ET7s2 was a later revelation. It rekindled my love affair with CJ.

My current ARC REF 6SE is the one I like best at the present. If tubes continue to be available, it may be my last. I’ve owned four other ARC preamps over the years, and they’ve all been a joy.

I’ve heard many great preamps from many manufacturers. I can’t really talk about preamps without connecting them to amps and speakers. If there’s synergy, it’s surprising how good things can sound.

 

[Kingrex]

I changed the 6922 tube in my pre back to the stock tube today. I had a Siemen E88CC in for a couple weeks. The stock tube is technically more correct. A tad more clean and clear. A touch faster with excellent balance. But I'm going to put the Siemens back in. The touch of liquidity and phenomenal sound stage with the Siemens is far more engaging. I'm drawn into the performance. Measuring a preamp on it being clean, clear and direct, IMO might not be measuring a preamp on its listenability. Only its technical prows.
I do back to back comparison of gear all the time. Its a good way to hear what is going on. But living with something for a week or more and having it a part of the system gives a completely different lense into what is going on. I think our emotions, life stress, health etc impact our perceptions. What ones experiences one day may be received quite different at a later date.

 

[Porsche]

spectral dmc20mk2
Burmester 077

 

[Audio_Karma]

SoulNote !

 

[Gregadd]

Krell1sa

 

[LL21]

My first favorite was the original McIntosh C22. It was incredible compared to its contemporaries. Have owned other McIntosh preamps, but the original C22 was special for its day.

The CJ PV5 blew me away compared to anything else at the time. I loved it. It led to my buying many CJ preamps, including PV8, PV11, and experimenting with CJ’s Teflon caps, all to good effect.

The Krell KSP-7B was also a favorite. It matched well with my Krell KSA amps. Those were great systems.

The CJ ET7s2 was a later revelation. It rekindled my love affair with CJ.

My current ARC REF 6SE is the one I like best at the present. If tubes continue to be available, it may be my last. I’ve owned four other ARC preamps over the years, and they’ve all been a joy.

I’ve heard many great preamps from many manufacturers. I can’t really talk about preamps without connecting them to amps and speakers. If there’s synergy, it’s surprising how good things can sound.

Have you heard the later CJ GAT/GAT 2 or the latest CJ ART88 preamp?

ART88 Triode Preamplifier - conrad-johnson

The ART88 Triode Preamplifier has been designed to serve as an industry reference standard for line-stage preamplifier performance.

conradjohnson.com

 

[leszek]

My All Time Favorite Preamp is Thomas Mayer 10Y pre.Much better than Soulution 721 in my system which I owned for few years.I currently use it with Wavac Ta-805m and Accuphase A-250 mono amps.

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[LL21]

My All Time Favorite Preamp is Thomas Mayer 10Y pre.Much better than Soulution 721 in my system which I owned for few years.I currently use it with Wavac Ta-805m and Accuphase A-250 mono amps.

​

I have read great great things about Thomas Mayer's work. What is it about his work that you find makes it your favorite? Did you try some of his amps as well? I note this higher powered ones (that would match your Wavac's power) are very expensive, but curious if you liked them as well. Thanks for any insights.

 

[leszek]

I didn't try his amps.Just the 10Y preamp.It is very musical, quiet and works fine with tube and solid state amplifiers.

 

[Alrainbow]

View attachment 111721 Krell1sa

I had this stack and one that looks just like it
have to say it’s massive sound really makes you feel it’s in front of you.
I wanted to buy the stacks but each had issues and owner would not let me send them to Krell to be served before I would buy them. I was paying for the Krell service too.

 

[Another Johnson]

Have you heard the later CJ GAT/GAT 2 or the latest CJ ART88 preamp?

ART88 Triode Preamplifier - conrad-johnson

The ART88 Triode Preamplifier has been designed to serve as an industry reference standard for line-stage preamplifier performance.

conradjohnson.com

I have nothing negative to say about CJ or their designs, except that they are no longer my favorite.

On a positive note … I love the REF 6SE for the hyper musical detail that it brings to my system. I love the clarity. I love the lack of equipment induced drama and the incredibly black noise floor. I love the choice of balanced or single ended (I prefer balanced). I love the functionality of the user interface. I love how it pairs with my ARC REF250SE monoblocks, and how those drive my Sasha DAWs. I’ve never heard a CJ based system at any level (through the modern era) that sounded as right TO MY EARS..

That doesn’t mean that another might not prefer the ART 88/108A combination. At this level choices are matters of taste and personal preferences. Audiophiles make more of the gear than is warranted by the music. YMMV