Opportunity to buy the best Preamp... but which?

Take Markwatkiss' advice and save tons of money by trying an Audio Horizons TP 2.0 preamp for 30 days.

It's really worth a listen, I'm not affiliated with the company, just a very satisfied listener.

Andrew; based on your tastes...

"My preference would be a neutral tube based model."

.....you are looking for a preamp that has a bit of the sweetness of tubes, but not euphonic warmth.

i have heard all those pre's on your list and to my ears the darTZeel NHB-18NS will give you both the sweetness and neutrality you are seeking. it is the only one that is battery powered.....which really does set it apart in areas of low noise and dynamics. it also contains a world class phono stage. if you choose to use it with the darTZeel NHB-108 amplifier you will save money on interconnects at it uses a propietary BNC 'zeel' cable which has amazing performance, can be any length up to 1 kilometer, and is relatively cheap.

any of those other pre's and others mentioned in this thread are very good.....you are right....it becomes a matter of taste and context at this level of gear.

good luck and have fun with your choice.

>>I'm in the market for a new pre-amp with almost no budget constraint<<

We all should have such problems.

Why not buy 2 or 3?
I would.

I have to agree with Marty & Swampwalker:
VAC Renaissance Signature Mk. II with phono.
I believe the guy who sold it to me commited suicide (just kidding), but I know he misses it.
Sounds & looks are absolutely stunning!

Are there any new designs that leapfrog all these top machines?

Andrew
aj_c@mail.com

Only subjectively. In reality, no, there is simply no clear winner. Sorry, if only it were so easy, we would all just put the other companies out of business and all simply buy 'the best'. In the real world it doesn't work like that.

I don't think you can point out 'the best' in any field though. Cars, homes, boats, wines, ice cream flavors, preamps, amps, they are all just subjective choices.

In the end, only you can decide what you like.

John