Golden Tube SE-40 looking for a good preamp to pair with it

WhiteNoize

Active Member
I've been searching online ads for a few weeks now and I thought maybe stopping in here would provide a few ideas.

I don't care if it is tube or SS and I don't care if it is old or newer. I'd prefer to pick up something used. I don't want to spend tons of money but get a good bang for the buck preamp.

I'm currently using a simple passive preamp with this amp with fantastic results but I need something more versatile. two outputs and at least 4 inputs. I'd like an active preamp as some of my sources do not have enough output volts to send to the amp. A passive preamp is doable though if nothing else.

I love tube sound but the preamp can be neutral. If it adds color I might be fine with that but either way I would prefer something dark and something I forget is there.

Thanks!

P.S. This amp has been fully upgraded by Sonic Craft.
 
Do you want it to have a phono input?

The Conrad Johnson line of tube preamps might be a nice choice, they have many different versions, old and new. A dynaco PAS3 might be a good choice too, if your looking to upgrade it, there is tons of info out there.
 
Phono input doesn't matter either way. I'm not looking for anything I have to upgrade and I'd like to keep the price under $1k. I'd really like to spend under $500 if possible.
 
Maybe other members can chime in too but I'd definitely take a look at the Conrad Johnson on auction sites, they have like stage preamps as well, you can get one for under a little over 500 depending on which model it is.
 
Thanks. I've actually been looking at their preamps but so far everything is quite expensive. I will continue to keep my eyes open for a deal though. Thanks.
 
Well after searching and searching I finally decided on a preamp. I picked up a TAD-150 Signature.

I had narrowed it down to a few preamps such as the one above and the Audible Illusions Modulus 2D, McCormack TLC-1, transcendent Audio Grounded Grid Preamp and Sonic Frontiers SFL-1.
Of all of them the one that seemed to have the least amount published about itself was the TAD and what I could find was glowing so I decided this was the one for me. If not I will turn around and sell it but I hope I enjoy it and it jives with my simple setup.
 
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