Your All Time Favorite Preamplifiers?

[musicfirst1]

What are your all time favs?

 

[musicfirst1]

Fair enough Mike, I know how the optics look, but that doesn't alter my opinion, as in this day and age its very easy to carry the stuff you love, rather than being forced to love the stuff you carry.

BTW, I am 'only' an Aries Cerat dealer, not a distributor.

Kerry

 

[Mike Lavigne]

it's very hard to be able to isolate what an active preamp is doing, to properly judge it. so you almost need to live with one to really know it.

that said; easily my favorite preamp is the battery powered/solid state darTZeel NHB-18NS. it's been my reference since 2005....in Mk 1 and Mk 2 versions and has a formidable phono stage too. this month's Absolute Sound has a rave review on it from Jacob Heilbrunn, who has purchased it, and of course, Fremer has used it as his reference for over a decade. it get's out of the way of the music.

i have heard the Aries Cerat (not sure the models) a few times at shows and was impressed.

others that would interest me would include the big Lamm, Robert Koda, and Kondo. i hear great things about the Audio Research Ref 10. i've not lived with any of those.

 

[Chop]

Audio Research SP8. Had one in the late 80's. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

 

[Gjo]

it get's out of the way of the music.

This describes exactly the SMc Audio VRE-1C I have had in my system since 2010.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

This describes exactly the SMc Audio VRE-1C I have had in my system since 2010.

i had Steve McCormick (and Gary Koh) in my room with his preamp prototype back around 2010. it was very good.

we played a few of the M & K direct to disc recordings he was a part of including "For Duke". it was fun hearing his commentary about it.

 

[Gjo]

i had Steve McCormick (and Gary Koh) in my room with his preamp prototype back around 2010. it was very good.

My VRE-1C was Steve's personal unit, which he kindly brought to my home to demonstrate.

It began as a VRE-1, and was subsequently updated by Steve to VRE-1C status.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

My VRE-1C was Steve's personal unit, which he kindly brought to my home to demonstrate.

It began as a VRE-1, and was subsequently updated by Steve to VRE-1C status.

it's probably the unit i heard in my room, but further tweaked.

 

[shakti]

for me, there is no „best preamp“
only a best matching preamp can exist.
Robert Koda has outlined in an interview, what a „perfect“ preamp should do.
I am fine with his definition, but this will bring us to different products, depending on the set up to become a part of.

Currently I am happy with my Soulution 720 pre,
not because it is the best preamp on earth, but because it fits to my technical needs best and within this current set up, I have not yet heard a better alternative.

 

[Gjo]

for me, there is no „best preamp“

I agree, in general.

Thankfully, the author asked about all time favorite preamps. A refreshing, and appreciated alternative to the ubiquitous what's best question.

 

[LL21]

Interesting to see Robert Koda mentioned twice. Happy to mention it a third as a big fan of the K15EX!

For those who have not heard it but perhaps might have heard the latest CJ GAT 2 (or even GAT 1 which has a less solid, powerful signal)...the Robert Koda K15EX is more dynamic but also more nuanced...and in all regards much quieter with greater ability to allow details to 'float' effortlessly to the surface.

However, it does follow a similar track to CJ GAT series of emphasizing qualities of organic tonal delivery and true grainlessness.

 

[musicfirst1]

it's very hard to be able to isolate what an active preamp is doing, to properly judge it. so you almost need to live with one to really know it.

that said; easily my favorite preamp is the battery powered/solid state darTZeel NHB-18NS. it's been my reference since 2005....in Mk 1 and Mk 2 versions and has a formidable phono stage too. this month's Absolute Sound has a rave review on it from Jacob Heilbrunn, who has purchased it, and of course, Fremer has used it as his reference for over a decade. it get's out of the way of the music.

i have heard the Aries Cerat (not sure the models) a few times at shows and was impressed.

others that would interest me would include the big Lamm, Robert Koda, and Kondo. i hear great things about the Audio Research Ref 10. i've not lived with any of those.

For me, as someone who aspires to the very best from SOTA Digital, I long believed in "The Best Preamp is no Preamp" edict. That is, a properly designed DAC with the best implemention of a volume control (like the non decimating oversampled DVC in the Mola Mola Tambaqui or by control of the reference voltage to the actual DAC chips like those in the Metrum or Sonnet) simply could not be equaled, let alone beat.

For me now, the very best preamps, not only "do no harm" but also excel in terms of drive and dynamics, which one would expect, but also in terms of detail, air, and low level resolution!!

On top of all the above, the very best Preamps, when inserted between ones' DAC and Amplifiers, can inject a level of musicality, and indeed HUMANITY, that makes it so much easier to connect with the Artist and the performance.*

* Is this effect due to the 'colorizing' or 'editorializing' effect said to be present in essentially all preamps (usually a detractors or purists)? Poviding said preamp first 'does no harm'
I simply don't know and don't care.
.

 

[Run-RMC]

Robert Kõda K15 is my long term favourite.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

For me, as someone who aspires to the very best from SOTA Digital, I long believed in "The Best Preamp is no Preamp" edict. That is, a properly designed DAC with the best implemention of a volume control (like the non decimating oversampled DVC in the Mola Mola Tambaqui or by control of the reference voltage to the actual DAC chips like those in the Metrum or Sonnet) simply could not be equaled, let alone beat.

For me now, the very best preamps, not only "do no harm" but also excel in terms of drive and dynamics, which one would expect, but also in terms of detail, air, and low level resolution!!

getting away from the favorite preamp discussion, and talking 'preamp' philosophy, i have some strong views. at modest levels of gear a preamp reduces performance. extra interconnects, modest circuits, and compromised build quality do restrict transparency and get in the way of the musical message. sources going direct mostly result in a net gain. sometimes integrated units with source and active preamp in a single chassis, are best at low price points.

so i do agree with you in those cases.

less is more.......until...........more is more.

at a certain point not having an active preamp will reduce energy and substance from the music. better sources and better amps deserve the better signal delivery that a top preamp can deliver. hard to define where that line is as far as dollars. but it's easy to hear.

On top of all the above, the very best Preamps, when inserted between ones' DAC and Amplifiers, can inject a level of musicality, and indeed HUMANITY, that makes it so much easier to connect with the Artist and the performance.*

* Is this effect due to the 'editorializing' effect present in essentially all preamps? Poviding said preamp first 'does no harm' don't know, don't care..

at the top of the food chain the very top level preamps apply extreme power supply, tech and chassis approaches to make their case. they 'dig deeper' than passive can manage to do. and many times synergize with and optimize the amps too.

 

[musicfirst1]

I agree with all your points here Mike and would say your post could easily serve as an addendum to mine.
.As Einstein said "Keep things as simple as possible, but no simpler "

Kerry

 

[Salectric]

getting away from the favorite preamp discussion, and talking 'preamp' philosophy, i have some strong views. at modest levels of gear a preamp reduces performance. extra interconnects, modest circuits, and compromised build quality do restrict transparency and get in the way of the musical message. sources going direct mostly result in a net gain. sometimes integrated units with source and active preamp in a single chassis, are best at low price points.

so i do agree with you in those cases.

less is more.......until...........more is more.

at a certain point not having an active preamp will reduce energy and substance from the music. better sources and better amps deserve the better signal delivery that a top preamp can deliver. hard to define where that line is as far as dollars. but it's easy to hear.

at the top of the food chain the very top level preamps apply extreme power supply, tech and chassis approaches to make their case. they 'dig deeper' than passive can manage to do. and many times synergize with and optimize the amps too.

Mike, you refer to active preamps. Have you tried the EMIA autoformer? Now that you have the EMIA Phono Corrector the autoformer might be a logical next step.

 

[LL21]

It is interesting because I do not have the experience of many here, and my path to getting to posts 14 and 15 (which I have some appreciation for) arrived really in following CJ for 20 years, learning about where their design and other great designs are moving with their GAT designs in the last 10+ years...and then reading voluminously about the Robert Koda K15EX...

...and I am told the Robert Koda K15EX is sometimes described as a passive preamp with just right touch of super high quality power added to it in order to provide that endless drive and deep dig that Mike describes.

So that is why I have an appreciation of these very seasoned posts even if I cannot say I have spent lots of time with passives and multiples of other designs of preamp other than the usual auditions from time to time.

 

[Audio_Karma]

BeSpoke Audio Company preamp.. Silver version

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike, you refer to active preamps. Have you tried the EMIA autoformer? Now that you have the EMIA Phono Corrector the autoformer might be a logical next step.

an autoformer answers a question i'm not asking.

my battery powered dart pre is fantastic and mates perfectly with my dart amps with a proprietary 'zeel' 50 ohm interface. not saying that the EMIA Autoformer does not have it's own set of attributes, but not willing to give up those i already have. and then compromise my interface advantages.

plus the analog optical coupler switching and attenuation in the dart is hard to beat.

someday if i were to switch to something like horns and an SET amp then the EMIA Autoformer might be the way i would go.

 

[microstrip]

getting away from the favorite preamp discussion, and talking 'preamp' philosophy, i have some strong views. at modest levels of gear a preamp reduces performance. extra interconnects, modest circuits, and compromised build quality do restrict transparency and get in the way of the musical message. sources going direct mostly result in a net gain. sometimes integrated units with source and active preamp in a single chassis, are best at low price points.

so i do agree with you in those cases.

less is more.......until...........more is more.

at a certain point not having an active preamp will reduce energy and substance from the music. better sources and better amps deserve the better signal delivery that a top preamp can deliver. hard to define where that line is as far as dollars. but it's easy to hear.

Mike,

IMHO this nice line of though only manages to survive if we keep it qualitative or at a point the considered price is too low to pay a decent box and connectors ... As soon as you try to put a value in dollars on it we find that it the preamplifier / no preamplifier is mainly a preference - although sometimes I was attracted by the more "direct" sound of direct coupling without preamplifier for an initial period of time, in the long term I always preferred the sound wit an adequately chosen preamplifier - be it a Quad 34 with Quad amplifiers, a cj PV10 with cj power amplifiers or the top GAT , REF40 or 7.5 mk3.

at the top of the food chain the very top level preamps apply extreme power supply, tech and chassis approaches to make their case. they 'dig deeper' than passive can manage to do. and many times synergize with and optimize the amps too.

Top or bottom level preamplfieirs do the same - they manipulate the signal in a subjectively pleasant way. Otherwise why should we need an extreme power supply and chassis for something that does not increase the signal amplitude? We known that technically they are an absurd insertion in 99% of the cases. But we seem to prefer them!