1977 - Apt Holman
1979 - PSE
1984 - Perreaux SA3
1985 - ACR SP 10II (still in use)
1998 - EAR 834L (still in use) |
1986: Acoustat TNP
1987: Audio Research SP11 Mk II
1990: Jadis JPL/Vendetta SCP 2B
1992: Jadis JP80MC
2002: Jadis JP200/Lamm LP2
I've had numerous other preamps in the system from time to time while the JP80 was being repaired (Meitner PA6i, VAC Rennaissance, Innersound, Klyne, Lamm L2 and LL2), but somehow I've continued to stick with the Jadis products. The current combination works extraordinarily well together, and on the few records that are cut so low as to require more gain than the Lamm can give, the JP200 has a total of almost 100db gain (including the line stage) to remedy that problem. |
Hafler DH101(modded)
Stax SRA-12S
Naim 42
Naim 32/HiCap
MFA Magus(modded) still in use.
I keep my gear for a long time. Heard a boatload of new and used preamps when working at the audio store. |
Main system:
Quad preamp (#33?)
Audio Reasearch SP9 MkII
Audio Research SP14
Balanced Audio Technology VK30 (my current reference)
Lehmann Black Cube (do phono preamps count?)
Other preamps:
Threshold FET Ten (lasted one afternoon)
Lazurus Cascode (used as a phono stage for a short time)
Classe Thirty (in use in my office system)
I think preamps ought to contain tubes! Do yourself a favour and check out the BAT stuff. Best, Jeff |
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Pre section of Pioneer SA-9500-II
Yamaha C-4
Rotel 910 ?
PS Audio 4.6 with the large ps
Adcom GFP-565
Audio Research LS8 Mk 2 |
Not much here,
Bryston B-60 used as a preamp>
Air Tight ATC-1 current reference
Next, who knows? |
I'm sitting with four preamps in my room now.
Blue Circle BC21
BAT VK3i
Luminous Audio AXIOM
Antique Soundlabs T1 DT
No EVO here, just dinosaurs and homosapiens coexisting, and I won't say which is which. |
Adcom GFA450....Audible Illusions L1.....VTL 5.5.......all within the last 7 years.... |
1973 Sony 2000F
1975 ARC SP-3A-1
1978 ARC SP-6C, E
1983 ARC SP-11
1986 Vendetta phono w/home built passive
1988 Home built line stage w/fet followers
1998 CTC Blowtorch
Still have the SP3-A-1 and will probably keep it forever...... |
McCormack Line Drive
B&K Pro 10 MC
Anthem Pre-1
Audio Research LS3
Pass Aleph L
Audible Illusions Modulus 3A
BAT VK 3i
BAT VK 30
Audible Illusions Modulus 3A
JJ Electronics 243
K&K Audio Custom preamp with phono using S&B TX102 for line stage(just got this beauty yesterday after a 3 week wait)
This does not include many preamps I auditioned in my system, some of them even long term, including the following:
Rogue 99
Kora Triode
FT Audio LW-1
Reference Line Preeminence 1A
Placette RVC
Cary V12P (Hot Rod version of SLP-98)
Coda 02B |
1970 Citation SS
1974 Naim SS
1976 ML JC-1
1978 ML 1
1982 ML 10
2002 Pass Labs X2
2003 Pass Labs X2.5 |
Souncraftsmen PE-2217R
Bryston 1B
Hafler DH-110
Audio Research SP-6C
Audible Illusions L-1 |
Let's see.......Hummmm..
MacIntoch C28
GAS Therdra
Mark Levinson ML-1
ARC SP6
ARC SP6A
ARC SP6B (loved it)
ARC SP 8
Conrad Johnson 5
ARC SP 9
ARC LS 25 mkl & ARC PH 3se |
Belles (forget the model number, don't have it anymore), Transcendent GG, ARC LS-15, David Berning microzotl modified to act as a preamp, Eastern Electric Minimax, and (hopefully very soon) Tron COmet. Still have the Transcendent, Berning and Minimax. |
1976 - Dynaco PAT-4: a great starter pre-amp (used initially just with a pair of Koss Pro 4AA headphones), but suffered from the "Dynaco hum".
1977 - Phase Linear 4000: one heck of a piece if gear for a college freshman! I scrimped and saved all summer for it....
1981 - Nikko (forget the model #)
1983 - Apt Holman Model One. A great piece of gear, one I wish I still had for old time's sake. Had a unique "fade" control from stereo L/R to Mono.
1985 - PS Audio 4.5, later upgraded to 4.6....still use this to this day as a phono pre-map. The "straight-wire" mode is outstanding. Had an unusually large outboard transformer for a pre-amp; perhaps Paul McGowan's early experimentation with power conditioning!
1998 - Combined 2-ch with Home Theater, briefly used a Rotel pre/pro, then bought the Acurus ACT-3.
2001 - No pre amp for a time; ran my Resolution Audio CD-55 direct to the power amp for critical listening.
2002 - Proceed AVP- a true high end pre/pro at last.
2003 - Upgraded to AVP2 status. |
Pilot ???
McIntosh MX-110
Audio Research SP9 III
Audible Illusions M3
Spectral DMC-10 Delta
Rogue Magnum 99
someday... Lamm L1 or Spectral DMC20 II |
sony integrated amp(when i was young....)
adcom 565 preamp
audio concept sp-1 tube
symphonic line Rg3 MkIII
symphonic line RG3MKIII with super power supply.(great stuff), this will last a long time now.....
Tim |
Pioneer SA-9100 integrated amp (70's)
Audio Research SP 9 Mk III (80's)
CAT SL-1 Ultimate (2000-Present)
First Sound Presence Deluxe 4.0 MK II (2003-Present) |
Pioneer C21
Denon 3200
AVM Vorstufe
Audio Research LS2
Audio Research LS22
Sonic Frontiers Line3 |
DB Systems
Spectral MS-One
Melos SHA-1
Adcom 750
Placette Active
First Sound Presence Deluxe
Prior to the DB Systems, it was all receivers and integrateds. |
1. Preamp section of Panasonic Mini-Receiver (found in just about every dentist's office in the early 70s)
2. Preamp section of Pilot 25 wpc integrated solid state amp
3. Preamp section of Yamaha CR620 receiver
4. Nakamichi 620 Tuner/Preamp (Slanted panel with gigantic tuning dial...coolest looking piece of equipment ever)
5. Hafler DH101 kits - several bought, built, modified and sold.
6. conrad-johnson PV3 - bought, built and modified extensively (great sounding unit)
7. conrad-johnson PV2ar
8. Beard P505 - luscious
9. Spectral DMC10delta - wonderful
10. Wright Sound Lab WPL20 - supremo
All have been used primarily for use with phono sources. The last two have been oustanding in this regard. The last is equally facile with digital sources. |
HK Citation 11 - 1970
Naim Preamp -1975
ML 1 -1977
ML 10 -1982
Pass X2 -2002
Pass X2.5 -2003 |
Just to update the list:
Pre section of Pioneer SA-9500-II
Yamaha C-4
Rotel 910 ?
PS Audio 4.6 with the large ps
Adcom GFP-565
Audio Research LS8 Mk 2
Audio Research LS 25 with Amperex NOS tubes |
Advent 300 Receiver using preamp section (wow)
Apt Holman (read all the hype and fell for it)
Back to Advent 300 Receiver (it sounded better)
PS Audio 6.1 passive preamp (big improvement but still not there yet)
Conrad Johnson PV 12AL (Now that's music happy at last!) |
1980 Audible Illusions mini-mite
1982 Audible Illusions (new model of what was really the mini-mite)
1983 Yamaha C2
1984 PS Audio (concurrent with C2 and tubed pres)
1985 Superphon (ditto)
1989 Forte (Great harmonics, detail filter)
1992 Van Alstine Pas 4
1999 Onkyo P-304 (ridiculously good for the money, got it new for $129...MSR was $600)
2000 Threshold NS-10 ($30 at pawn shop, blown power caps. $10.59 to fix. Great pre,especially when put on the lab power-supply.)
2003 Bryston BP25, 1.5 phono (ultra-quiet and better musicality than all the tubes I put it against YMMV. Not the last word in high-freq dynamics.)
2003 Spectral DMC30S (Oh yeah, baby! Dynamics,extention, mids...pretty much everything.)
2003 Using the built-in preamp on the 390S (Awesome with right cables...and nothing else to switch. Will take in other digital sources though.) |
Belles DM Preamp, ANYTHING? |
I started in 1974. Alphabetically:
Audio Research SP-3
Audio Research SP-4
Harman Kardon Citation 25
Heathkit AP-1800
McIntosh C28
SAE Mk XXX (I actually had 2 of these)
SAE Mk 1B
Yamaha C-85
I still have both the Audio Research units. |
I was an integrated guy up till 2000. Since then:
2000: SimAudio P-3
2003(May): SimAudio P-5
2003 (October): Bent Audio NOH (Transformer passive - the proverbial "curly wire with attenuation") |
Not much here, since the mid 80's I've had the following:
Luxman C-120A
Acoustat TNP
Music Reference RM-5 (classic silver finish)
Dyna PAS 2
Music Reference RM-5 mk II (got the RM5 upgraded)
Dyna PAS 3
Hegeman Hapi 2
Superphon Revelation Basic Dual Mono
Others Auditioned: Crown Straightline One, PS Audio IVH, PS Audio 4.6, Moscode Minuet, Audio Research SP8
For a long time, I've had int amps or tube amps with volume controls and used a small source selector box, so it was more of a straight wire with gain. It's been 10-15 years since I had a preamp in my system and I miss having one :)
Currently using a Tandberg TIA-3012 integrated amp
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@lou_setriodes thanks for resurrecting this very old thread! I see i never revisited my 2003 post, which isn’t making me feel old at all! So...
bryston b-60
air tight atc-1
edge s-1 signature
herron original model blanking on the number.
Deja Vu Audio custom tubed preamp my current for the last 12 years. |
Lexicon CP-3
Lexicon DC-1
Meridian 861
Audio Research LS26
Cary SLP-98
Cary SLP-05
Levinson 326S |
Dyna PAS-3
Citation 1
Fulton Bravera
modified EICO HF 85 with outboard tube regulated power supply
Atma-Sphere MP-1 Mk1 (about 1989)
and then succeeding MP-1s- on Mk3.3 right now.
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I a couple out I had an Audioprism Mantissa and a Supratek Syrah as well in between the Edge and the Herron.
|
Latest Update:
Not much here, since the mid 80's I've had the following:
Luxman C-120A
Acoustat TNP
Music Reference RM-5 (classic silver finish)
Dyna PAS 2
Music Reference RM-5 mk II (got the RM5 upgraded)
Dyna PAS 3
Hegeman Hapi 2
Superphon Revelation Basic Dual Mono
Technics SU-9070
Aragon 24K
Others Auditioned: Crown Straightline One, PS Audio IVH, PS Audio 4.6, Moscode Minuet, Audio Research SP8
For a long time, I've had int amps or tube amps with volume controls and used a small source selector box, so it was more of a straight wire with gain. It's been 10-15 years since I had a preamp in my system and I miss having one :)
Currently using an early Aragon 24K with a B&K ST202 & a GemTune GS-01 |
