Good afternoon, gentlemen of the forum. I have come to a point in my audio journey where I am having some serious self-debate with regards to the pre-amplification of my rig. I currently have and have had for years a custom made Dodd MLP tubed pre-amplifier. I consider myself lucky because it is one of only 42 ever made and the only one of it's kind with a wood faceplate with matching wood remote [both of which were not offered with this model] as well as it being the only known Dodd MLP preamp to have wooden input selector and volume knobs, on a now discontinued model. Gary prides himself on being a minimalist with regards to his designs and the remote is no exception. There is only an up and down button for the volume control but for my needs, it's perfect.
It has a separate power supply with a 5' umbilical cord to keep the two apart from each other. Being a 12Ax7 based unit, it utilizes 4 12AX7 tubes producing a real quiet background and respectful, clean frequency response by any audiophile standard. The tubes I have found that pair well with the Dodd MLP are the Ei 12AX7 Ei Gold pins. It has an HT bypass as well as 3 inputs, 2 outputs and a mute switch.
The build quality is quite impressive with nice attention to detail, cleanliness and layout. The tubes are easily rolled and you don't have to remove any boards or go through your elbow to get to your rear end to get too them. 10 Allen screws, lift the top and you are in like Flynn. It is apparent once you see the Dodd MLP that quality products were used. From the power supply all of the way up to the inputs of the pre, to the laser imprints on the wood faceplate.
When I first saw it, I referred to it as the "Fred Flinstone" pre-amplifier. It looked like something that one might find in his stone hut. Of course once I heard it? I listened for hours on end with the system it was on. We played around with different combinations of gear, PC's, IC's SS CDP's and tubed CDP's and even different speakers. The Dodd MLP performed so well, I knew right then and there that one day, I would own one.
Long story short, life happened and a couple of years go by and a good friend of mine asked me if I wanted to borrow a pre-amplifier when I had a bout with Mother Nature and she not so kindly offered me a lightning strike at my house, which fried certain components within the rig. I asked him which pre he was talking about and I couldn't really think as to which one he was talking about. When I asked that he describe it to me, the more I heard, the more I realized that he was talking about this "Fred Flinstone" pre I had heard years before.
Long story short, I ended up purchasing the unit and it turns out that it was the very same unit I had heard at an audio event years before. Well, I had heard it once before and it commanded my attention. When I first put it into my rig, the sound commanded my attention once again. There were just so many things that were now apparently obvious that I used to have to strain to hear....along with all of the new sounds that were always there, just masked. This pre has been in my rig ever since. The only thing that has changed is the tubes and like I have mentioned before, I have settled on the Ei 12AX7 Gold pins.
Why is it discontinued, you ask? Well, Gary has apparently outdone himself and built an even better pre-amplifier. The reviews are glowing and Gary flat out told me that he discontinued the other pre lineups because this one sounded so much better. The new pre he has is a tubed preamp but this time, it is battery powered.
Now, I am a little skeptical because I absolutely love the Dodd MLP and what it does for the end result as to what hits my ears. What I was wondering is if anybody here has any experience with battery powered pre-amplifiers and what observations they may have on them.
Might this be something that you would recommend [a battery powered pre]? What may be the pro's or con's to having a battery powered tube preamp? Any insight or observations that you may have had or have now would be greatly appreciated.
It has a separate power supply with a 5' umbilical cord to keep the two apart from each other. Being a 12Ax7 based unit, it utilizes 4 12AX7 tubes producing a real quiet background and respectful, clean frequency response by any audiophile standard. The tubes I have found that pair well with the Dodd MLP are the Ei 12AX7 Ei Gold pins. It has an HT bypass as well as 3 inputs, 2 outputs and a mute switch.
The build quality is quite impressive with nice attention to detail, cleanliness and layout. The tubes are easily rolled and you don't have to remove any boards or go through your elbow to get to your rear end to get too them. 10 Allen screws, lift the top and you are in like Flynn. It is apparent once you see the Dodd MLP that quality products were used. From the power supply all of the way up to the inputs of the pre, to the laser imprints on the wood faceplate.
When I first saw it, I referred to it as the "Fred Flinstone" pre-amplifier. It looked like something that one might find in his stone hut. Of course once I heard it? I listened for hours on end with the system it was on. We played around with different combinations of gear, PC's, IC's SS CDP's and tubed CDP's and even different speakers. The Dodd MLP performed so well, I knew right then and there that one day, I would own one.
Long story short, life happened and a couple of years go by and a good friend of mine asked me if I wanted to borrow a pre-amplifier when I had a bout with Mother Nature and she not so kindly offered me a lightning strike at my house, which fried certain components within the rig. I asked him which pre he was talking about and I couldn't really think as to which one he was talking about. When I asked that he describe it to me, the more I heard, the more I realized that he was talking about this "Fred Flinstone" pre I had heard years before.
Long story short, I ended up purchasing the unit and it turns out that it was the very same unit I had heard at an audio event years before. Well, I had heard it once before and it commanded my attention. When I first put it into my rig, the sound commanded my attention once again. There were just so many things that were now apparently obvious that I used to have to strain to hear....along with all of the new sounds that were always there, just masked. This pre has been in my rig ever since. The only thing that has changed is the tubes and like I have mentioned before, I have settled on the Ei 12AX7 Gold pins.
Why is it discontinued, you ask? Well, Gary has apparently outdone himself and built an even better pre-amplifier. The reviews are glowing and Gary flat out told me that he discontinued the other pre lineups because this one sounded so much better. The new pre he has is a tubed preamp but this time, it is battery powered.
Now, I am a little skeptical because I absolutely love the Dodd MLP and what it does for the end result as to what hits my ears. What I was wondering is if anybody here has any experience with battery powered pre-amplifiers and what observations they may have on them.
Might this be something that you would recommend [a battery powered pre]? What may be the pro's or con's to having a battery powered tube preamp? Any insight or observations that you may have had or have now would be greatly appreciated.
