$18k Tube preamp for large scale symphonies please

As per Grannyring, I agree with the TRL Dude suggestion. Don't let the reasonable price fool you. It is superb. I love mine, and it's the most natural, effortless sound you can imagine. I just received my Duelund cast caps and will be installing them soon, can't wait to hear the difference. FWIW: Paul is great to deal with

Based on my recent experience with Duelund Cast in my speakers and DAC I`m sure they`re excellent in the Dude also.

The Coincident Statement Linestage and the TRL Dude with CAST capacitors represent superb linestage results for a reasonable cost.I think it would be 'difficult' to out preform them regardless of cost.
Regards,

If you are looking for a linestage only, I would urge you to consider the VAC Signature or Renaissance.

hi Charles, sorry to bother you with questions again.
With some audition experiences, i found out there are 2 types of distinctive background silence. First type: imagine yourself on a huge plateau of grassland or perhaps on Antarctica (going for extreme!) where there's miles of open space, no walls,no civilizations, no birds & crickets sound, maybe wind you can feel but no sound of it. There's nothing to hear, pure absolute silence(seen such places on National Geographic!) Now if a live band is playing on such place, what you hear is music notes with its extension/decay and air around instruments (music float in space,no blurry imaging). We hear this music emanates from this "air of quietness" or ambience so to speak, no reflected sound or reflected harmonics. Coincident Linestage is few hair strands close to this type of silence where music emanates from, do you agree?
Second type(most common), imagine yourself alone in a closed hall/theatre (either big or small), and there's no sound. Now this silence you get is definitely different from the quietness you encounter in the first type, right? Sometimes if the hall is small enough,the silence may cause ringing in your ear. If the same band(from the plateau example) playing the same music in this venue(well design & properly damped), we'll hear a nice soundstage & its reflected sound, however, overall music would sound different from the former right? as the music it emanates from has a different type of silence, right? i think this type of quietness which we "hear" are generally refer as dark/black. Also tonally refer as tip down, IMHO, since the reflected sound is losing energy and the effects we hear is more of lower,tone down reverberation??
Charles,i heard VAC signature and it exhibit much less of this "tone down" silence characteristic compared to others, is this silence what you hear too?

Hello Phillip,
Not sure if I completely understand your analogy.The CSL is very quiet but in a nautral sense,as opposed to an artificial or over done 'black' background. What did you think of the CSL compared to the VAC Signature? Both are superb but different.I could be very happy with either.
Charles,