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Vintage Asylum Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time. |
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Vintage Asylum Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time. |
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In Reply to: Best sounding vintage tube preamp. posted by lesleymorley@yahoo.com on August 17, 2011 at 08:29:36:
... is quite an opinionated subject. The world reference vintage, classic tube sweet award goes to the Marantz 7; followed by an up and still coming(pricewise) Lafayette KT-600, IMHO. Yes, the Mc C-20 is in the running, as well, but there are three versions to consider. The Mc C-22 is not as sweet sounding. The C-11 is another classic, look what I own and can afford choice.
As far as budget minded units go, there are dozens and dozens to choose from ! Very vintage '60s or even '80s vintage preamps yield choices that can still be had for well under $1K. A Marantz 7 will cost you close to $4K today. The "lowly" Lafayette fetches $1K while the even "lowlier" Eico HF-85 can be had for $300. Luxman preamps are soaring in price and demand; because of their sound. The Lux non-exported/imported CL-30 might be one of the top 3 most dynamic sounding preamps ever. An ARC SP-2 trounces most SP-3 and 3A-- preamps I have heard; but the SP-3 fetches more money; due to popularity and availability. Dynaco PAS preamps still hover between $200-$300; quite a bargain. As you see, decisions, decisions, decisions...
The HK Citation 1 is not on my list. It is not very sweet and it uses passive phono EQ, which gets the musical timing of vintage records very wrong, IMHO. Passive EQ can sound exciting and "fresh" but we all must remember that most stereo LPs recorded before the '90s utilized feedback EQ in the recording process. Don't you think the playback process should decode the EQ in the same manner ? We do want to maintain the proper time and space continuum, right ?
Back to choices for the best...how about the Luminescence by MFA ? It will cost about $3K and has enough gain for anything without using a SUTranny, but is it sweet enough for your ears ?
That is the biggest question and true dilemna. Will you like the way it sounds, before upgrading parts, after upgrading, after tube rolling ? Well, if you dwell in the DIY world, you might be able to build or mod as well as any commercial product has shown, or has been heard. You can take a $250. Arkay SP-6 or Eico HF-85 and mod it into a stunning competitor. But, if you want a single "best" commercial offering, this is like deciding which sports car to buy...tough decisions, certainly...ENJOY !
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Follow Ups
- Best sounding vintage tube preamps.... - Interstage Tranny 08:53:54 08/20/11 (0)
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