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Most Quiet TUBE Preamp. Linestage. $ 12K or less

Hello gentlemen.
I am on the market now for an all TUBE preamp. Linestage only. My budget is $12K new or used. A main criteria is this tube preamp must be "Noiseless".

My main beef with tube preamps in the past is the Noise. I want dead silence. No HUM, No Buzz just dead silence.You can literally put your ear to the chasis and hear nothing.

Is there such an all Tube preamp that is Dead Silent ?

THANK YOU.
Joe
joefama
tvad
9,467 posts
 


12-31-06: Goldorak
I had a BAT VK-51SE and heard no noise at all through 94 dB Tannoys.
The fact that you no longer have the BAT VK-51SE, and now own an Audio Aero Capitole Mk II/ PS Audio phono combination is an interesting commentary on the importance (or unimportance) of absolute quiet from a preamp.

Personally, I rate absolute quiet several steps down on the scale of what's important in a preamp.
jond's avatar
jond
3,400 posts
 
The quietest tubed preamp that I've ever heard was my old Herron VTSP-1A. It was dead silent and sounded excellent.
reb1208
518 posts
 
Properly tubed, many modern tube pre-amps are capable of dead silence. This performance can be found in preamps starting at the 3K price level. Perhaps you had a bad experience with a noisy model?
jsaah's avatar
jsaah
66 posts
 
When I had my Mcintosh C2200 tube pre it was dead quiet. On the other hand, the Aesthetix Janus that replaced it was quite noisy in my system. Happy New Year!
Joe
rick_hopkins's avatar
rick_hopkins
21 posts
 
I use an Atma-Sphere MP-1 mk III and with a good set of new tubes it is silent. I'm listening through Soundlab A-1 PX panels. Any input and any volume level, including the phono, is perfect. As the tubes age you will begin to hear tube hiss but generally the tubes are close to failing at this point.
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