Help picking a tube preamp, please
You might want to consider the Herron VTSP-3A(r02), at $6550 new. I haven't heard it, but Herron products just about always seem to receive glowing comments from A'gon members and other users, who also invariably mention that Keith Herron is an absolute pleasure to deal with. It is described as having 100 step remotely controllable volume, which I would expect to allow 1 db or better resolution over most of its range. Caveats are that all of its inputs and outputs are single-ended, and I have no knowledge of whether or not in-home auditions or return privileges are possible. Regards, -- Al |
So you want a vacuum tube preamp. A quaint little box filled with 19th century technology, the warm orange glow of hot little glass bottles void of atmosphere but full of metals banned in most countries these days. Who can't be pulled back to yesteryear with those warm full tones magically pouring from those ubiquitous glass bottles. A miracle of genius and determination coaxing electrons through near lethal high voltage circuits. Oh the thrill of the music knowing death is just a finger poke away. What an accomplishment creating sound out of decaying metal filaments spitting electrons into space. Wonderful, beautiful sound as long as everything is perfect: Bias voltage not too low or too high, no vibrations, heat not too low or too high, no radio signals/RFI to botch things up, connections not corroded and lastly humidity not too high or too low. So get your tube preamp, shop for just the right tubes, check the tubes for proper operation, check all connections, check voltages, let the unit warm up, kick back and enjoy. Don't worry, I'm immersed in this hobby up to my neck too. |
Al has a good suggestion heed it. If you want good increment control over the entire volume range, this can only be achieved by a pre that has full range of motion control with your amp without having too much gain. This pre can be set/switched to high or minimal gain, which means the full 100 steps of the volume control may be at your disposal. Instead of just from 7 o'clock to 9 o'clock for full level. Cheers George |
