World's best Pre-amp for $10K and above?


Looking for the HOLY GRAIL in Audio? Here it is. I'm in my early sixties and retiring to my final system, which I was going to purchase during the past twelve months and decided to put on the brakes, and investigate whats out there as the most advanced engineered high end audio products for the money in the market place. As far as I'm concerned, the two top engineers in the world for the best Amp and Preamp at low prices are Bent Holter with Hegel Audio in Norway and Roger Sanders with Sanders Sound in Colorado. Why? The Hegel P-30 Pre-amp is a game changer, and will easily compete with Pre-amps at $30K and above. The FM Acoustics 268 Preamp that retails for $107K, uses a technology thats called "feedforward" instead of feedback.
Amps and Pre-amps since the early 80's have all used either global feedback, zero feedback or local feedback to filter out noise and lower distortion by sending and filtering the feedback current to filter capacitors or or an extra filter transformer. A small amount of voltage feedback occurs at the output stage in amps and preamps which goes back into the parts and boards causing noise and distortion which smears the quality of the music.The best Preamps in the world all have S/N noise ratios at 125 db's or above. The Hegel P-30 Preamp uses the same feedforward technology as FM Acoustics but is a more current design that Bent Holter calls "Sound Engine" patented technology that eliminates feedback which is why the P-30 Preamp has a S/N ratio of 132 db's, which has never been accomplished in high end audio with a Preamp costing $10K or below. The same applies to Roger Sanders Magtech amplifier which uses a patented linear voltage regulator that controls and regulates voltage with no excess voltage going back into the amp causing heat and distortion problems. The amp puts out 900 watts into 4ohms. Krell makes a pair of mono blocs that also use a similar voltage regulator. The amps are $100K a pair. HERES THE PERFECT SOLID STATE SYSTEM. A Hegel P-30 Preamp. A Sanders Magtech amp, A pair of Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers. The worlds finest SACD player, the Playback Designs MPS-5, designed by Andreas Koch, who invented SACD technology when he worked for Sony. He built the worlds first outboard DAC in 1982 and is legend in digital engineering. The MPS-5 is the most analog sounding player on the market which costs $17K. The Hegel P-30 is only $7500.00 and the Magtech amp is only $5K. The Aerials are $10K. Buy the solid core cables from Morrow Audio. They are low capacitance cables which matches up perfectly with these components. This combination sounds like the very best tube and solid state gear on the market. The whole system will cost about $42K but will sound as good as any system costing $200K. All of these products are game changers. If you want better looking cabinets and faceplates, then blow your money, but you will not get better performance for what this system has to offer. It is the HOLY GRAIL you are searching for and there is no better combination for the total cost of the system.
audiozen
Agisthos,
Yes huge fan of Hegel...wanting to try H30 which could be a great summer amp. Hegel is punching so much higher above it's weight class. Refreshing to see a brand that makes a $7,500 preamp that competes with $20,000 preamps. I'm sure the $15,000 H30 competes with $20-30k amps. My only fear is Hegel will start charging prices much higher and more in line with what other manufacturers are charging.
In the VAC 450 mono, many found rolling the "vo-1" position offered tremendous improvements. Not sure what position on 450 stereo ...

Podeschi, contact Kevin and roll some tubes before selling the 450s. :-)
Listening to 450S thru ARC Ref40 preamp restored my faith in what the 450S is capable of to the point I am now going to figure out how to get better A\C in the listening room. Even thru the Hegel P30 i got a fuller taste of the 450S. some reason the Ren MkIII wasnt the best match with it. Listened again with P30 ... There is some magic in that preamp ...almost as good as the ARC on a few dimensions.
Podeschi
In your opinion does the Hegel P30 somewhat mimic a tube preamp? I am trying to get a handle on how it is different from other SS preamps( I ask cause if I get one I will have to buy it blind).
thanks
Budt,
The P30 has the absence of dry electronic sheen/overlay that i hear in many SS preamps. So a musical real liquid midrange and treble but bigger and more extended than most tube amps. Where it is a champion is throwing a nice expansive soundstage and deliberately controlling and articulating the lower registers. I was dumbfounded how a small relatively inexpensive preamp could easily beat 10-15k preamps and handily compete with 20-25k preamps. No bling factor but it delivers the goods. My ARC ref 40 is better than the P30 and my Centaur is much better than any amp i have heard including the H30. But i could easily and happily live with an all Hegel system. Together their preamp and amp take everything up a notch.