VT-100 MkII matches best with what preamp? HELP

Never mind the VT100.......just upgraded from VT100MKIII to NAGRA VPA's. Different ball game altogether!!

My VT100 MKII is coupled with the LS25 MKI (NOS 6H23 6922 tubes). In my system, I prefer the tonal balance and the overall performance of the LS25 MKI to the LS5 MKII. The LS5 is also a very good preamp.

As a reference you can view my system at the following site:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vdone&1126482564&view

I've tried several preamps with a VT50 that is similar in sound to the VT100, but lower in power. The Placette passive worked quite well as a budget choice if you use short, low capacitance cables. Transparency and resolution were high points here since the ARC equipment also excels in these areas. I know that it's a heresy of competitive brand mixtures, but a Conrad Johnson preamp (e.g., Premier 17) also worked quite well when I tried it. Other solid state preamps I tried lost some of the tube magic in the midrange and soundstage, so you might want to stay with a clean, high resolution tube preamp with good bass to keep the specific assets of this wonderful power amp.

Hi there!

I'm using ARC LS15 with VT100 MkII. Sounds very good. LS15 requires XLR (Balanced) interconnect to connect to the 'direct' input/output.

ARC LS25 and ARC Reference will be even better

Other recommendations that make a big difference to your system:
1)use 'Svetlana' valves 6550C and 'Russian' for smaller valves
2)Also I'd suggest you to use NBS Master III cable. It is relatively expensive but makes a big difference. Or at least Cardas Golden Cross. Do not use Audioquest.

Good luck!

Hello. Nice choices. I noticed another person mentioned the ARC SP9MkIII - I've had one for nine years - with a D125 tube hybrid amp (which does sound quite like your VT100MkII - I auditioned this extensively a few years ago, and found the overall musical picture similar, although your amp has a shade more detail and transparency). The pre-amp has been utterly reliable and has a fantastic phono stage. Some units have a remote too. I also tried the LS15 and that was good too - again no signficant improvement on the SP9MkIII, but it does come standard with a remote.

All the best.