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Best Tube Preamp with Phono under $2000 ?

What is the best tube pre-amp with a MM phono stage under $2000?

I have been looking at CJ ET-2 and McIntosh ; theyare both in the 4K-5K range.

What is the best "value-for-money" tube pre-amp in the 2K range that includes a decent phono stage?

Thanks in advance for your responses.
-Anu
anuruddhak

Showing 4 responses by tvad

tvad
9,467 posts
 
High value. Juicy Music Blueberry. Under $500 used.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
What amplifier is going to mated with this preamp? Impedance matching is key.

For example, the Juicy Music Blueberry has a 3.5 kOhm output impedance. It
must be mated with an amplifier having high input impedance.

Be certain to check the output impedances of all the preamps you consider, and
check that they will properly match with your amplifier. If you have a tube amp,
then your possibilities are pretty wide open. If your amp is SS, then you need to
be very careful with matching.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
There is no info on the Monarchy website regarding input impedance of the
SA100 monoblocks. I strongly suggest contacting Monarchy and obtaining this
specification before purchasing a preamp. It's possible that some tube preamps
will not match optimally with the solid state Monarchy amps. You need to have
this information before writing the check.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I don't think the 50K ohm figure is correct. Perhaps they meant 5k ohms.

In any case, with a 40k ohm input impedance for the SE-100, most tube amps will work, IMO, including the Cary SL-98p that has an output impedance that rises to 6.8k ohms at one point (according to John Atkinson's Test Measurements section of the Stereophile review).
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