Looking for cheap tube preamp with tone controls

[lattiboy]

Hi all,

I currently have a SMSL SA-98 amp. It's got more power than I could ever want, but no tone controls. Is there a cheap (probably Chinese) tube preamp with tone controls that anyone can recommend? The only one I can find is this model, but it only has limited reviews.

I currently use the Little Bear P5 with upgraded tubes and enjoy the sound.

PS when I say "cheap", I would like to keep this around $100 is possible.

 

[Hyfi]

Why do you need tone controls? Do you not like the amp and pre you use? Never mind, just looked at your amp and understand what might be lacking.

The Noobsound may just be a decent match.

 

[lattiboy]

Why do you need tone controls? Do you not like the amp and pre you use? Never mind, just looked at your amp and understand what might be lacking.

The Noobsound may just be a decent match.

The amp sounds great (crazy clear and detailed), but the Monitor 10s in my profile pic tend to need a bit of tone control to get decent bass out of them.

 

[Lavane]

I have one of their 6j1 headphone amps with pre out jacks. No tone controls. I ditched the 6j1's for some GE tubes and it sounds very nice. The one your looking at it probably like mine in that its a tube front end with SS output. Im happy using it as a headphone amp. It also makes for a good sounding preamp.

 

[Hyfi]

The amp sounds great (crazy clear and detailed), but the Monitor 10s in my profile pic tend to need a bit of tone control to get decent bass out of them.

Understood. You will want to replace the tubes in the Noob if you get one for best sound as per reviews. What you may end up with is a combo that is very favorable to many, tube pre-ss amp. From my own experience, a good quality amp is one thing, but the better the pre amp is, the better your sound will be,

Good Luck

 

[Lavane]

Also the GE JAN replacement tubes are dirt cheap and sound great right out of the box.

 

[Eminence1963]

you can always GASPput a EQ between the pre and power amp

 

[lattiboy]

Thanks all. I currently use the GE tubes with my LittleBear P5 and it does great. I will look into an EQ, but I was hoping to not have three components in a compact setup. I'll try the Noosound and report back once I've had time to break it in.

Also, I'm kind of shocked more audio enthusiasts don't look into the high-power tripath amp + cheap tube preamp setups. The SMSL drives my Polk Monitor 10s (-88db) to unreasonably loud levels at about 10 o'clock on the dial with absolute clarity and the LittleBear provides enough tone that you couldn't tell it from my Marantz 2265B. I cannot imagine needing more power than this thing puts out for anything but the most extravagant and inefficient setups.