What High End PreAmp do you have?

[darin g]

I use my 1970 PIONEER SA-900 I found at a pawn shop for 60 bucks paired with a Carvin 800 (1982) I picked up for 75 bucks with paradign studio 60s. You would have to hear it to understand just how beautful it sounds!! By the way Im new here and love this place.Alot of quality info and opinions. thx DG

 

[rudyg]

The Aragon 18k, a very minimalistic active MOSFET preamp, with external power supply, low output impedance and enough power to drive some rather demanding headphones.

My favorite Aragon, just sold a 24K because I missed the 18K I sold years ago and been wanting to recover ever since; it has the most precise controls in a unit I have ever had.

 

[bowtie427ss]

Tweaked McIntosh C-41, it's features allowed it to displace Conrad Johnson PV-5. The CJ was an excellent sounding preamp, but for the variety of music and conditions under which i listen, tone controls and loudness contour can enhance the experience too much to be without them.

I may have taken a tiny step backwards in SQ with the Mac, but the features, longevity, and resale value will make up for that very small compromise.

 

[fhawk618]

My "daily driver" is an Aragon 24K with an upgraded IPS power supply. Audio Research SP-6 (modded) and SP-7 MKII, Mark Levinson ML-1, Carver C-1 (modded) and Adcom GFP-555 in the house as well. Just acquired an AMC 1030a as well to tinker with.

The Aragon is not the most visually appealing unit, with a very "industrial" or "utilitarian" look, but the internal board layout and quality is amazing for a unit in that price range... with Penny & Giles pots, gold-plated Tiffany connectors, and a very flexible and accurate phono stage.

 

[juncers]

Technics SU C-3000. Completely under the radar, but well designed. Worth auditioning, if you can find one.


Ray

 

[Satch]

@ fhaw618: I used that same Aragon, including the IPS, for a couple of years. Very nice, and I really enjoyed the phono pre. But I've changed to a Audio Research LS-2, fitted it with a Philips E288CC SQ tube and never looked back.

 

[Purpleamber]

I have a C-1010... not sure what the difference is but I whatever photography skills (or lack thereof) I have are meager in comparison to your shot. Love it!

From the Vintage Knob: The C-1010 is a 20,000¥ cheaper pared down version : no touch-mute, no Aux 1 input level pot and only one DIN i/o but otherwise fully identical.

 

[elny]

Technics SU C-3000. Completely under the radar, but well designed. Worth auditioning, if you can find one.


Ray

You will love this - Check this out Technics SU-9600

 

[mhedges]

Currently, only the Sony TA-E90ES and three Kenwood L-07C's.

I am running a E90ES too. It's not quite at the level of the Klyne or Aragon but it is a nice piece.

 

[rcspkramp]

I have a Klyne also. It's an SK-5 ( champagne front panel ) from the mid '80s. I'm driving it up to Stan Klyne in April for a complete overhaul. It's nice now, but I expect it's going to be way better when I get it back.

 

[Arkay]

My main preamp is the Elliott Audio Sciences and Engineering (E.A.S.E.) "Magnum Opus One." The "Elliott" in the name is Michael Elliott, the designer behind the Counterpoint and Aria brands. This was a "statement" piece from the final days of the Counterpoint company. 50 of these were made, and each sold for $15,000 if purchased ex-factory (i.e., directly from Mr. Elliott) and $25,000 at retail resellers. To the best of my knowledge, two of these were sold here in Hong Kong. Others that I have heard of exist in the US, Russia, Japan and Greece. (Oh, and a Chinese company makes totally unrelated units using the same name, and trying to cash in on the reputation of these! :nono I feel very lucky to own one today.

It is a three-box preamp; in addition to the main unit, it has two separate power supplies, one for each channel. Each power supply alone weighs over 50 pounds, and is rated at over 200 Watts (per channel!). Thick umbilicals connect the power supplies to the main unit. The faceplate is 3/8" thick aluminum with an extra center panel; heatsinks run along the sides, except for beautiful hardwood blocks near the front, behind the ends of the faceplate. It is both dual-mono and fully balanced throughout, with both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA connections for each channel. There are two tubes in each power supply, and something like 14 or 15 tubes in the main (line stage) unit, but technically it's a hybrid, as the first stage is a FET (tubes thereafter). Somehow it manages to combine the best of both technologies, for a remarkably good sound. Unusually for a high-end preamp, it has a remote control, a beautiful thing carved from a solid block of aluminum with mechanical "clicky" metal button switches. I don't expect to find anything that would be an upgrade from this, so I consider it my "lifetime" preamp.

The attached pic is not mine; it was taken from a Japanese website, but it shows exactly the same thing as mine (the three boxes in the foreground). The two power supplies are the big boxes on the left side; the longer, flatter box beside them with the big center knob is the main unit. It looks bigger in real life than in the picture; the power supplies are about 10" inches wide and the main unit 19" wide; all units are 19" deep; 20+" deep if you include knobs and connectors.

 

[Raccoon1400]

Kenwood 700C

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=490127

 

[poppachubby]

Bozak 919

This was designed by Bob Betts and Rudy Bozak for home use in conjunction with the 929 power amp. They took the best design ideas from the CMLabs CMA-10 and scaled it down for a more home-based user. That said, it still has capacity to do just about anything you could possibly conceive.

I had my tech upgrade everything, and as you can see, each input has a modular board which simply plugs in and out. The idea here was to offer customers upgrades without having to replace the whole unit. Other companies have done this and still continue this practice. You'll notice how tidy and direct everything is - Bozak and Betts were indeed brilliant.

In any case, it's only issue would be aesthetics - it's ugly as sin, all business. To make things worse, I am missing a couple knobs for the sliders. I have compared this pre to several modern day units and it holds up everytime. It's far from perfect, but performs at a super high level. Anyone familiar with the CMA-10 will know what I am talking about. Insane S/N performance, and just a wonderful delivery of the music. High end? It won't compete with some of the insanely amazing units in this thread, but it competes up to the level which I am comfortable at.

 

[tubeornotube]

This was designed by Bob Betts and Rudy Bozak for home use in conjunction with the 929 power amp. They took the best design ideas from the CMLabs CMA-10 and scaled it down for a more home-based user. That said, it still has capacity to do just about anything you could possibly conceive.

I had my tech upgrade everything, and as you can see, each input has a modular board which simply plugs in and out. The idea here was to offer customers upgrades without having to replace the whole unit. Other companies have done this and still continue this practice. You'll notice how tidy and direct everything is - Bozak and Betts were indeed brilliant.

In any case, it's only issue would be aesthetics - it's ugly as sin, all business. To make things worse, I am missing a couple knobs for the sliders. I have compared this pre to several modern day units and it holds up everytime. It's far from perfect, but performs at a super high level. Anyone familiar with the CMA-10 will know what I am talking about. Insane S/N performance, and just a wonderful delivery of the music. High end? It won't compete with some of the insanely amazing units in this thread, but it competes up to the level which I am comfortable at.

Ugly as sin I would say as well but the interior speaks much of good almost military grade design and layout..

I myself have several high end pre-amps..Three ARC's,an SP-9MKII,LS1,SP-8MKII..also a Melos tube pre-amp..As far as SS I have a Klyne SK-5a with the plexi top..It's the best solid state pre from its era I have heard.

Matt...tubeornotube

 

[poppachubby]

Ugly as sin I would say as well but the interior speaks much of good almost military grade design and layout..

I myself have several high end pre-amps..Three ARC's,an SP-9MKII,LS1,SP-8MKII..also a Melos tube pre-amp..As far as SS I have a Klyne SK-5a with the plexi top..It's the best solid state pre from its era I have heard.

Matt...tubeornotube

I have long had a "thing" for the SP-9... a classic. Here's a pic of the classic CMA-10 which still sells for huge coin.

 

[chicks]

That's some cool, zero-WAF gear there, pops!

Closest I can get to that asthetic is the good old Rat Shack mixing console.

 

[poppachubby]

That's some cool, zero-WAF gear there, pops!

Closest I can get to that asthetic is the good old Rat Shack mixing console.

Yes it's funny that they went to the trouble of redesigning the look when the CMA-10 looks great. The CMA-10 was a first choice for DJs and such but nowadays is sought after by audiophiles. The sound is stellar, as is the 919. My wife knows better than to come into the cave anyhow... snipers in every shadow watching for wife and kids.

 

[jazzmans]

my stereo system (the part that uses a preamp)uses an apt holmann preamp. great preamp, wish it had balanced inputs, however. My main speakers don't have a preamp in the path at all, I'm sending a signal directly from my Maudio audiophile 192 card to my Carver and Rotel amps via balanced inputs.

My tv stereo uses an adcom gfp 345.

jaz

 

[kirk57]

My best solid state preamp is a Superphon Revelation Dual Mono. It wasn't expensive when new ($400 in 1987) but sounds excellent.

 

[juncers]

You will love this - Check this out Technics SU-9600

Wow---talk about busy! Technics hid all the controls (except the 3 most important) behind a flip down panel on this one.

http://audio-database.com/TechnicsPanasonic/amp/su-c3000-e.html


Ray