Preamp question - what should I be looking for?

On3s&Z3r0s

So far in my audio exploration I haven't ever really had a decent pre-amp (had some mid-fi garbage in the 80's). Other than that I've been using NAD integrateds (occasionally as a pre-amp with other amps), HT receivers, a Benchmark DAC direct to amp, etc., but never a good stand-alone pre-amp.

But now I'm convinced that the path forward to good sound involves a purpose-built pre-amp in the chain. I'm not really into vinyl so I don't need anything with a phono module. Just something to handle analog inputs from tuners and a DAC. Since I have a Benchmark DAC and a B&K 200.2, balanced ins and outs would be nice, but not a deal breaker if it doesn't have them.

Right now the biggest question I'm struggling with is tubes or no tubes. I'm a complete tube neophyte, but it seems like tubes in pres are pretty straightforward (no biasing or anything like that). The Dareds seem like a reasonable deal for the price. Kind of limited with only two analog inputs, but I could live with that. There was a recent post about a Belles, which seemed interesting if a little pricey. My biggest question is whether the tubes are a good bet or if I should stick to SS, like maybe a PS audio or something along those lines?

The speakers I'll be running for the time being are 2B TLs. I'm open to upgrading the amp too, but I do like the B&K so far and would like to find something that pairs reasonably well with it. Any input from folks with a particular affinity for their brand of pre?

F1nut

In a pre amp, toobs are a must. Joule, VTL, Cary, BAT are but a few choice selections.

ErasmusBDragon

Consider Conrad-Johnson.

soundfreak1

I 2nd the tubes, go wrll with SS whats the budget?

Amherst

You ask for suggestions of what is an affinity to those of us here. One suggestion for if you go the SS route would be the Parasound P3 or C-2. They are readily available at great prices now. I consider the performance of these units top rate and they have the balanced in's and out's with a bypass mode. Plus it is a great match with your amp.
Hard to beat for the money.

zingo

Being a former tube guy, I'm enjoying my SS pre with SS amp. I do think XLR connections are of benefit for noise, and a lot of preamps have cheap pots for volume, so do your research.

Systems

zingo wrote: »

Being a former tube guy, I'm enjoying my SS pre with SS amp. I do think XLR connections are of benefit for noise, and a lot of preamps have cheap pots for volume, so do your research.

I would second the SS route.
Never owned tubes but I am sure that is a beautimus route to go also, but the SS are not as bad as most would have you believe.

Might look for a used Atoll depending on your budget.

drumminman

I like the combination of a tube pre with a SS power amp. Mine is an Odyssey Candela, which is very amenable to tube rolling.

On3s&Z3r0s

Thanks for all the feedback... been doing a bunch of research and it's making my head swim. As for budget I'd like to keep it around $1,000 but willing to dig deeper if the value is there. It seems like that price point is easier to hit on the SS side than the tube side. There is an Eastern Electric MiniMax on the 'gon now for $600 with an extra assortment of 8 tubes for another $200. From what I've been able to gather based on age and condition that might be a little high, and I found some older posts here saying that might be one to avoid. I'm definitely intrigued by the idea of having tubes in the mix, but I'm also a little worried about on/off cycles being hard on the tubes. My wife likes to listen in the mornings and me in the evenings, so either the gear stays on all day or it's on and off twice a day most days.

The Conrad-Johnsons definitely look interesting but not sure exactly what to look for there. I've heard from several sources that older can beat newer, but not really sure where the sweet spot is on that. Atoll is a brand I hadn't ever heard of, and haven't been able to find out much, but I'll keep looking.

Thanks again for the pointers so far, and all you tube experts, please let me know if you think the tubes will be too fussy for a toob noob with somewhat limited time to figure out.

F1nut

but I'm also a little worried about on/off cycles being hard on the tubes. My wife likes to listen in the mornings and me in the evenings, so either the gear stays on all day or it's on and off twice a day most days.

That's a non-issue.

headrott

I recommend a BAT VK-3i. It fits your budget (used), is a fantastic tubed pre, and has a soft-start to make multiple on-off cycling easy on the tubes. It uses 2 6V6 tubes and 4 E88CC's (and varients). This is a fantastic pre-amp for the money, I have owned one for about 2 1/2 years. Plus, the BAT customer service is very very hard to beat.

ErasmusBDragon

More basically, look for the desired number of inputs (including phono for example) and you may want 2 outputs if you ever want to biamp.