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In Reply to: best true balanced tube pre amp under US$10,000 used posted by benno on August 9, 2012 at 10:59:20:
I would scratch the ARC Ref. 3 off your list, if you're looking for tube warmth.
It is a great tube preamp, IMHO, but having tube warmth is not one of its sonic characteristics. It is very neutral with an almost solid state sound, but with the holographic soundstaging that tubes can provide. (Excellent flat frequency response, with deep and tight bass, and a well extended treble.) It has lots of features and a nice remote control. (The Ref. 5 is slightly better, as it has slightly deeper bass response, but they are very much cut from the same cloth, and unless you have very deep pockets, the additional cost might not be worth it to you.)
You might want to check out some of the better Conrad Johnson preamps, like the ACT 2, if you're looking for some tube warmth.
Good Luck in your search.
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Follow Ups
- RE: best true balanced tube pre amp under US$10,000 used - Raiderman 16:19:13 08/09/12 (2)
- RE: C-J doesn't do balanced nt - Sunya 16:42:50 08/09/12 (1)
- Good Point. I forgot about that. -nt - Raiderman 08:24:10 08/10/12 (0)