12 Most Significant Preamps Of All Time

[Blue Shadow]

Anybody with too much time on their hands care to adjust these numbers for inflation? Might be interesting.

Why would we do that? Maybe put the list together with what you can actually obtain the preamp for in today's dollars from trustworthy sources that are selling them for the going rate. Compare today's dollars to today's dollars.

My SP-3a was cheap is expensive adjusted for inflation and can be purchased for 1500-2000 depending. That covers #1 on the list.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Rick, I haven't found The List yet but if you look at the first two, those were the preamps and still are which might indicate the they are at the top.

 

[stereoguy70]

I think the honorable mention missing here is the Advent 300 receiver.......it has the Holman phono preamp in it and it pre-dates the APT-Holman preamp by a few years, and you get a very good tuner section and a moderately good power amp section thrown in for free (more or less). And it has a very nice sound to it to boot! Good value for money, easy to repair, good spares availability, and has a good following still.

 

[musichal]

Yes, see the original list from TAS below.

Since this topic is getting traction again, maybe we need the real list posted. Here it is:
1. Audio Research corporation sp3 1972 $650
2. Marantz model 7 1958 $254
3. Dynaco PAS-3 1960 $60(kit) $80 (assembled)
4. MarkLlevinson LPN/JC-2 1973 $1100
5. Vendetta Research SCP-2 1988 $1895
6. Conrad Johnson ART/GAT 1996 $14,995/$20,000
7. Harmon Kardon Citation 1 $139 (kit) $239(wired)
8. Audible Illusions Modulus 3a 1996 $1895
9. Quad 33 1967 $120
10. Conrad-Johnson Premier 3 1983 $2850
11. Mark Levinson no.32 reference 1999 $14,950
12. Audio Research SP-10/sp11 1982/1984 $2995/$14995

This list was copied from another forum and may have been modified a bit (sp-10 and sp-11 instead of just one of them, for example) but I think it is the list. A good bit different from the OP's list.

I've only heard two on the list, the ARC SP-10, and the SP-11, which get counted as one, somehow. I got to spend a lot of time with each, and it was the best SQ I ever heard, certainly. Which brings me to my reason for posting here...

I think it would be interesting and cool if this thread morphed into (or a new thread started) in which the responses are based on one's own journey through multiple preamps, with brief comments about sound, functionality or cosmetics (or some combo of such) along the way. The Autobiographical Preamp? Good title, I think. I would start one, though my modest list mightn't be the best jump-start.

 

[manu et deo]

Today's dollars might be best that's for sure. I just know as an audio noob who's trying to figure out where to put my hard audio dollars I rely on the experience and lists like this from others as a guiding point or map towards where I go in my audio journey hopefully missing some of the pratfalls that others have taken along the way.

 

[Blue Shadow]

I think it would be interesting and cool if this thread morphed into (or a new thread started) in which the responses are based on one's own journey through multiple preamps, with brief comments about sound, functionality or cosmetics (or some combo of such) along the way. The Autobiographical Preamp? Good title, I think. I would start one, though my modest list mightn't be the best jump-start.

This is the kind of post I have tried for 5 years to get in the Top Performers forum but for some reason the AK bosses insisted on throwing all the speaker turntable and all sorts of other gear into that forum, old posts predating the forum. Another insistence is using the word vintage in the title. It does not need to be there. It causes newbs to think that is where they should post about the Lloyds vintage chunk they just got. It ought to be named Top Performing Electronics or Amplification or something that would lead everyone to know what it supposed to be discussed there.

I have discussed the preamp listening we have done. Crown DL-2, Audio Research SP-3A, SP-3A-1, SP-9II and Hot-rodded SP-9 III and a couple others. We haven't done a passive, yet.

 

[tcdriver]

12 Most Significant Preamps Of All Time? I think the Heathkit WA-P2 needs to be on that list:

Heathkit WA-P2:


In System:

 

[Poultrygeist]

I'd say the Sain Smart 6n3 should be on the list as the most significantly affordable tube preamp available anywhere. It's caused a lot of smiling faces around here for $35.

 

[bhunter]

Yes, see the original list from TAS below.



Since this topic is getting traction again, maybe we need the real list posted. Here it is:
1. Audio Research corporation sp3 1972 $650
2. Marantz model 7 1958 $254
3. Dynaco PAS-3 1960 $60(kit) $80 (assembled)
4. MarkLlevinson LPN/JC-2 1973 $1100
5. Vendetta Research SCP-2 1988 $1895
6. Conrad Johnson ART/GAT 1996 $14,995/$20,000
7. Harmon Kardon Citation 1 $139 (kit) $239(wired)
8. Audible Illusions Modulus 3a 1996 $1895
9. Quad 33 1967 $120
10. Conrad-Johnson Premier 3 1983 $2850
11. Mark Levinson no.32 reference 1999 $14,950
12. Audio Research SP-10/sp11 1982/1984 $2995/$14995

This list was copied from another forum and may have been modified a bit (sp-10 and sp-11 instead of just one of them, for example) but I think it is the list. A good bit different from the OP's list.

I think I can agree with this list with perhaps one or two changes. Personally, I'd go with the CJ ART/Gatt or the ARC SP10/11 for sonics. There really is no "best" in such lists IMHO.

 

[E-Stat]

I've only heard two on the list, the ARC SP-10, and the SP-11, which get counted as one, somehow. I got to spend a lot of time with each, and it was the best SQ I ever heard, certainly. Which brings me to my reason for posting here...

And yet, their current offerings significantly improve upon what those thirty year old classics could deliver in terms of transparency, soundstaging and dynamic expression at both ends of the spectrum.

 

[sqlsavior]

So far, passive preamps have only been mentioned in passing.

Not to mention magnetic attenuation...

 

[Ds2000]

Dennesen JC-80
MFA Luminesence A1-C
Sony TA-ER1
Denon PRA-S1
eXclusive C7(a)
Sansui C-2301 & 2
Mark Levinson No 26S
Sony ESPRIT TA-E900
Dolan PM-1
Audio Research SP-15
Conrad-Johnson ART
Accuphase C-290V

 

[cube-tube]

I knew that Audible Illusions Modulus 3A sounded familiar to me. A few years back, I bought one off of Audiogon. It was coming from Atlanta, GA, so at most, should have taken 3 days to get here. It was well over a week until UPS claimed that it had been lost. Needless to say, I got my money back.

As for preamps that impacted me the most, that's easy (I've had something like 8 or 9 total). Only two of them I would put on a list like the one mentioned in this thread, the Accuphase C-200 and the BillD modded Carver C-1.

When I was a kid and my oldest brother had all of the Carver gear, he started with the C-1, then later upgraded to the C-4000. I loved their looks and the effect of the Sonic Holography feature on them. They also made his Denon TT with Stanton cart sound very good. Very clean and dynamic.

My current BillD modded C-1 is even better. With the Sonic Holography engaged, it is less intrusive than stock, and the bass boost with it engaged is no longer there. And with all of the upgraded opamps throughout, it is completely dead silent as is the phono stage. And speaking of the phono stage, it is excellent sounding. Plenty of gain and dynamics while being completely silent.

The Accuphase was also an excellent performer. Not only did it have an excellent phono stage, but it had two of them, both very flexible with adjustable load settings and gain on each. It was a clean and smooth sounding preamp.

 

[Descartridge]

snip Last person I heard mention Klyne had it up there with Spectral.snip

I second that emotion.

 

[sqlsavior]

So far, passive preamps have only been mentioned in passing.

Not to mention magnetic attenuation...

I never heard a Precision Fidelity C7, but it had quite a reputation. It had a tube phono stage and a passive line stage, with only a potentiometer for volume control.

My Promitheus TVC is a magnetic passive. It uses multi-tap transformers for attenuation - one tap for each volume setting. It is the clearest, most transparent preamp I have heard.

I think that CD players with their 2.5 V reference output led many to try a passive preamp. It is my opinion that more people should do so...

 

[slimecity]

I think the Quad 33 could be considered as being "significant" for sounding significantly arse.

Just my $3.23.

 

[mfaz28]

The Lafayette KT600 was supposed to have a excellent circuit design. As described in VTV magazine. Thoughts?

 

[62vauxhall]

I've come to the conclusion after years of reading magazine test reports and equipment reviews that the only thing they accomplish is invite debate.

Considering how many individuals read those things before purchasing (or followed the advice of salespeople who undoubtedly used them as a sales tool) it would be of interest, at least to me, to know what pre-amps sold the most.

It seems to me that that would be more significant than the individual opinions or preferences of paid magazine writers about the merits of brand A over brand B.

Would it not make sense that the most significant were those that reached the hands of the most consumers?

 

[Blue Shadow]

I don't think that preamp sales would be an indication of performance because they range in price from inexpensive kits to wow, it costs that much? The cheaper ones would have much higher sales volume, lots of PAS and PAT Dynacos out there. Sales volume is also affected by the brands available, whether it was a warehouse sales operation (they won't have Audio Research) or a chain of stores of single stores.

I would believe that sales volume by brands would show the ARC, McIntosh and maybe Marantz to have good volumes. Sony sold a lot of the TA-2000 and TA-2000F preamps but not many manufacturers offered full lines of preamps. Something that might keep the volume numbers low.

One way to see what are the good preamps would be to track current selling prices. The ARC SP-3 sells for good money today, 3-5 times MSRP as do a number of others. Onkyo's P-301 doesn't command the price often found for under a c-note.

 

[Poultrygeist]

If you include kits the Bottleheads would be near the top.