Your All Time Favorite Preamplifiers?
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Someone figured out they could use a 12SN7 in our amps with a minor mod to the amps. 12SN7s are mostly unused and certainly not in production. In a period of about a year that tripled the price of the 12SN7s even though not that many people started using them.
So let's imagine that a circuit is designed to use a tube that's not in production. The tubes aren't used by many so they are inexpensive and plentiful. What does that look like in 10 or 20 years? One thing is certain: the tubes will be harder to find and more expensive. If they are cheap and easy to find, why not get a few for the drawer in the side table? Its not a serious investment in space or money; if you ever sell the equipment the tubes can go with it. Having been in business over 46 years to me this is just common sense. I remember when someone made a preamp based on Nuvistors about 34-40 years ago. Those tubes were rare back then and really hard to find now. Not the same situation of course but it does illustrate the point.
So let's imagine that a circuit is designed to use a tube that's not in production. The tubes aren't used by many so they are inexpensive and plentiful. What does that look like in 10 or 20 years? One thing is certain: the tubes will be harder to find and more expensive. If they are cheap and easy to find, why not get a few for the drawer in the side table? Its not a serious investment in space or money; if you ever sell the equipment the tubes can go with it. Having been in business over 46 years to me this is just common sense. I remember when someone made a preamp based on Nuvistors about 34-40 years ago. Those tubes were rare back then and really hard to find now. Not the same situation of course but it does illustrate the point.
That is really a nice preamp.
Did the overhaul do anything? Or were the tubes perfect and ‘not really’???
To me, the preamp is the most surprising component in a hifi system. I thought that the preamp would "just" do source switching and volume control. When I built my last Burmester system, I tried to live for a while without a preamplifier. The CD player I had chosen, the Burmester 089, had a volume control, could switch between digital sources (CD, S/PDIF) that feed the DAC and even had an analog input. I connected the Burmester 089 to my power amplifier and was pretty happy having one component less in my system.
But when I tried the Burmester 088 preamp in my system, the soundstage became more defined, there was more detail, it simply sounded much better. Since then I value my preamp a lot - but I must admit, I don't understand it.
Since moving from Berlin to Cape Town I have also switched from Burmester to Gryphon as my preferred audio brand. I sold my Burmester 088 and bought the beautiful Gryphon Pandora preamp. Burmester 088 vs Gryphon Pandora was a "huge" step. The soundstage became huge, the space between played notes dark and quiet. Endgame preamp?
A short while ago Gryphon released the Commander preamp. I was telling my wife and friends that nobody would ever need a Commander (if you have a Pandora that is), that it was far too big, too heavy, I did not like the new very prominent 3D logo.
Unfortunately a fellow hifi enthusiast, who happens to live more or less around the corner, has swapped his Pandora for a Commander. His words after the Commander was burned in: " The Pandora is shit". The Commander apparently has made such a huge impression on him.
To cut a long story sort, I resisted for a few weeks before ordering the Commander. Incoming hopefully end of August. Report to follow.
But when I tried the Burmester 088 preamp in my system, the soundstage became more defined, there was more detail, it simply sounded much better. Since then I value my preamp a lot - but I must admit, I don't understand it.
Since moving from Berlin to Cape Town I have also switched from Burmester to Gryphon as my preferred audio brand. I sold my Burmester 088 and bought the beautiful Gryphon Pandora preamp. Burmester 088 vs Gryphon Pandora was a "huge" step. The soundstage became huge, the space between played notes dark and quiet. Endgame preamp?
A short while ago Gryphon released the Commander preamp. I was telling my wife and friends that nobody would ever need a Commander (if you have a Pandora that is), that it was far too big, too heavy, I did not like the new very prominent 3D logo.
Unfortunately a fellow hifi enthusiast, who happens to live more or less around the corner, has swapped his Pandora for a Commander. His words after the Commander was burned in: " The Pandora is shit". The Commander apparently has made such a huge impression on him.
To cut a long story sort, I resisted for a few weeks before ordering the Commander. Incoming hopefully end of August. Report to follow.
Dear @Solartiger I used to own a 4 box Gryphon preamp. Congratulations on your new purchase. I lived in RSA for a while in Brooklyn, Pretoria. Beautiful country. I liked your choice of city more than choice of preamplifier.
I’ve done this experiment countless times over 40 years. I’ve never known a source component with a volume control that beats a well designed solid state or tube preamp. I’ve tried many DACs with built-in volume controls. They work fine for casual listening. But once you’ve heard what a top-class preamp, like an ARC 6SE can do, there’s no going back. The logic seems to suggest that fewer components in the chain should be better than more. Experience doesn’t bear this out for me.
I remember when in 1994 I listened to a Dissanayake preamplifier for the first time... at that time I had a Graaf 13,5 tube preamp and a Threshold Statis power amplifier connected to Martin Logan Sequel II. I was completely blown away by the details and transparency that came out and I spent days in listening my favourite records discovering new nuances and emotions. I usually don't like the terms that are used in High End, I am a non-professional musician (I play guitar and bass and I like to play live with my band in clubs and small/medium venues), but my job allowed me to set up audio systems for large venues and music shows, so I know a little how music must be performed and presented to an audience, how music is manipulated with many effects before it's recorded, so I am fully aware that the music is recorded in a physical media (CD or Vynil) is different from live music. So, my personal scale of judgement on how a music gear is good is how it's cable to bring me the emotions I feel when a play an acoustic instrument or when I listen live music. And, stated that we will never know what is really recorded in a CD or in a Vynil record, if we hear more details in music we know very well, we can say that the amplifier that allows you to hear that is better than other gear. So, after owned and listened to Audio Note, Copland, Audio Research, McIntosh, Mark Levinson and a countless list of high end brands, I met Dissanayake amplifiers an I've found "peace". I mean that during the years I have constantly upgraded my system with Dissanayake new releases (waiting months to have a new one, they are totally hand crafted), news projects, new power supplies, new cables. It took me years to have my present configutations, that is made of:
. Dissanayake Tube Master preamp with separate PSU
. Dissanayake Tube Mono power amplifiers Reference ONE with separate Tube PSU (a battery-like PSU, if you turn off the power the amplifier keep playing for ten seconds, due to the huge capacitors the PSU is equipped with!)
. Dissanayake cables for low and high level signals, power.
My configuration is stable since many years, with only minor upgrades suggested and operated by Sarath Dissanayake himself.
I keep on listening to other high end systems in fair, shows or at home of passionate people like me (I always try to listen my test records), but never got even close to what my system is able to reproduce, above all with well recorded piano, acoustic guitars, simphonic orchestra and.... the most beautiful instrument you can hear, the human voice.
This is my experience I'm pleased to share with other passionate people, I keep on buy records (my Gyro is grateful for that) and also CDs (ML 309 is happy, too) and I always play and listen to music, not only in my listening room but everywhere I am.
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ProAc Response Four each one placed on three air springs Moss KS-30
I have had many high-priced hiend devices, but none have ever sounded like a Dissanayake! I can compare it to whatever you all have in your reference system!
I had a ref5se with nos 6550 tungsol years 50’s, early 60’s, the best Russian 6h30dr. And it’s true it was excellent coupled with my Pass Xa 160.5… But well I loved tube, always same problems to find so good tubes. And I wanted to try a passive preamp. And when I heard the Bespoke audio, I said, this is what I am waiting from a preamp. Sound as it comes from the source, without adding or losing anything. With a so great transparency. Will never go back.
The issue with passive preamps is always impedance matching. It can work out well in some cases. I've not had much luck finding a passive preamp that beats a state of the art solid state or tube preamp. Another consideration is how many sources you have. If you only listen to streaming digital, it can be ok, but once you throw in multiple sources, such as CD, vinyl phono output etc., passive solutions start to look limited in my experience as they don't do much in the way of gain matching. From the mid 1980s when I started to read TAS as Harry Pearson was doing his exhaustive review of then state of the art preamps, I found his observations to be spot on four decades on. HP is no more, but his wisdom still shines through.
you don't have to go back, but you should try a Dissanayake, you will join the flock...
The best for my money and ears is the Thrax Libra. Live music at your home made possible.
The Thrax is a gorgeous pre-amplifier and, surprisingly, not spoken of more frequently. I have heard it, and it is superb. Eastern European-made gear loses out on notoriety to its Swiss, German, and Danish counterparts. Yet it goes head-to-head with the best of breed, especially when considering the exceptional value for money.
Amplifying this among our current favorites is the Trafomatic Audio Tara 30A, Sasa's flagship (fully disclosure: This has recently become the US importer for TA).In solid-state, for us, it is, of course, The WestminsterLab V2.
Looking back, I still cannot forget my experience with my first great pre-amplifiers, an ARC SP-3a-1 and a Rowland Coherence 1. Like the contemporary offerings above, these pre-amps presented the music differently, yet each was a breakthrough at the time.
Amplifying this among our current favorites is the Trafomatic Audio Tara 30A, Sasa's flagship (fully disclosure: This has recently become the US importer for TA).In solid-state, for us, it is, of course, The WestminsterLab V2.
Looking back, I still cannot forget my experience with my first great pre-amplifiers, an ARC SP-3a-1 and a Rowland Coherence 1. Like the contemporary offerings above, these pre-amps presented the music differently, yet each was a breakthrough at the time.
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The "Last" you buy in your life i promise you
inductive powersupply 90lbs
inductive powersupply 90lbs
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