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View Full Version : New Pre Amp - Putting together a shortlist


Lee Henley
10-02-2015, 23:14
I'm in the market for a new pre amp for my Audio Note Empress Mono Blocks, apart from the obvious contender such as the AN M2 which retails at £2500 anyone care to add some others to the list for me to consider, I'm quite open to ideas either new or secondhand and passive or active

Would be looking to spend around £2500 max

Very best

Lee
Ali Tait
10-02-2015, 23:24
Have a word with Nick (Lurcher). He could build you a very nice pre for that kind of budget.
andrasszamek
11-02-2015, 07:25
I guess it depends what kid of sound you want. What kind of speakers do you have? Do you need phono?
Lee Henley
11-02-2015, 07:31
I guess it depends what kid of sound you want. What kind of speakers do you have? Do you need phono?

Ive got Audio Note AN-K Spe speakers and dont need a phono stage
r100
11-02-2015, 08:04
Maybe one from Tortuga Audio (http://www.tortugaaudio.com) ? You could ask Morton (owner) if it is compatible with your amplifier.
andrasszamek
11-02-2015, 09:12
Well it seems like you like the AN house sound so the m2 would probably save you a lot of time. :) i guess it would indeed make sense to try out a passive (tortuga for LDR or music first for transformer based) and probably something solid-state (simaudio , parasound or something) then you will know which direction is better for your taste.
Tarzan
11-02-2015, 09:20
l agree Audionote pre, will suit the rest of your kit and look cool also- a nice problem to have Lee.:)
AlexM
11-02-2015, 10:00
Conrad Johnson ET3 or ET3 SE line stage is a fabulous preamp. The ET3 line stage is available for a little less than your budget and the SE for a little over. I have been delighted with mine - a very musical, detailed and balanced sounding device... I would have stretched to the SE if I could have as it is stellar.

Regards,
Alex
Yomanze
11-02-2015, 18:41
Careful not to over-egg the pudding with some Audio Note pres though.
DSJR
11-02-2015, 19:04
Most active preamps are the bane of Hifi gear in general, as most alter the signal fed them to some degree I found. often, it's the expensive ones which do this the most as well :(

My advice if you have the patience, is to try a Tisbury passive FIRST, to see if your amps are happy with a passive device. If they're not, I still think Glenn Croft has loads to offer you and a 25R without phono stage wouldn't be much more than a grand I think. Not as pretty as a US 'classic' preamp, but almost certainly better in performance ;)
AlexM
11-02-2015, 21:39
Still just don't like the sound of passives though - admit I haven't heard that many but they always seem to be a little... lightweight and lacking drive to me. Maybe they are too dependent on system matching to work consistently enough to be a broad recommendation IMO. I'm lazy so remote control is a must too LOL!
hifinutt
11-02-2015, 22:52
l agree Audionote pre, will suit the rest of your kit and look cool also- a nice problem to have Lee.:)

agreed , given your love of audionote . I think anything else would be second best although an mfa would be worth an audition as marvellous vfm s/h and rather good in many cases

the puresound L10 would also fit well
neilh
12-02-2015, 16:24
Lee, I know from AlanB (my neighbour) that you are a valve man, but if you could be persuaded away from the dark side why not try a Lejonklou Sagatun.

Alan can tell you what they sound like, or feel free to pop round and hear for yourself
YNWaN
12-02-2015, 16:33
How about the Absolutor:

http://gpoint-audio.com/our-collection/absolutor/

http://gpoint-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSC_1201300.jpg
jandl100
12-02-2015, 17:20
How about the Absolutor:

http://gpoint-audio.com/our-collection/absolutor/

http://gpoint-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSC_1201300.jpg

Yup, very nice indeed. :thumbsup:
I did a review for Hifi Pig - linkie on the Gpoint site.

I'd also suggest a Restek Consens if you can find one - I've had mine for about 2 years now and love it dearly. :)
Lee Henley
13-02-2015, 13:04
Yup, very nice indeed. :thumbsup:
I did a review for Hifi Pig - linkie on the Gpoint site.

I'd also suggest a Restek Consens if you can find one - I've had mine for about 2 years now and love it dearly. :)

Its funny you should mention the Absolute Pre Jerry, Ive currently got them in the house on trial, and yes they are nice mate
hifinutt
14-02-2015, 11:16
Lee, I know from AlanB (my neighbour) that you are a valve man, but if you could be persuaded away from the dark side why not try a Lejonklou Sagatun.

Alan can tell you what they sound like, or feel free to pop round and hear for yourself

mmm, that's a new one on me .
roob
14-02-2015, 12:26
http://www.chevronaudio.co.uk/html/preamplifier.html and spend the rest on a nice holiday:D
CageyH
14-02-2015, 12:32
I am quite impressed with my Pro-Ject Pre Box RS. It's well below budget.
Gordon Steadman
14-02-2015, 12:34
How about a nice Quad 33??:eyebrows:
Dingdong
14-02-2015, 16:02
There is a Modwright LS100 on Pinkfish for less than £2k. A friend of mine has one and it is a hell of a lot better than the Audionote M3 he had, and the M2 I had.
Lee Henley
14-02-2015, 18:20
There is a Modwright LS100 on Pinkfish for less than £2k. A friend of mine has one and it is a hell of a lot better than the Audionote M3 he had, and the M2 I had.

Was that whilst using Audionote Monoblocks?
Dingdong
14-02-2015, 21:13
Was that whilst using Audionote Monoblocks?

I haven't heard it with AN power amps. All sorts of other valve and ss ones though. If your monos are the ones with 250mV input sensitivity I don't think the 23dB gain of an M2 would be a good match. You aren't going to be turning the volume control much. The M3 is a little bit lower output at 18dB iirc. I think the Modwright is around 10dB.
With quite a few of the AN power amps you need the lower sensitivity versions to work with the preamps.

After playing around with a few pre amps I am currently using a Pass B1 with my 300B pse monos, which are rated at 200mV ( I think). Sounds spot on to me, and was cheap. I like cheap.
YNWaN
15-02-2015, 00:12
I've heard a couple of B1's - they didn't do a lot for me.
Dingdong
15-02-2015, 00:27
Okay
hifinutt
15-02-2015, 16:47
There is a Modwright LS100 on Pinkfish for less than £2k. A friend of mine has one and it is a hell of a lot better than the Audionote M3 he had, and the M2 I had.

yes would love to have bought it but funds do not allow and the mfa is rather cracking currently
Lee Henley
19-02-2015, 09:40
Latest update for myself in search of a pre is that Ive got an Audionote M2 coming on Friday all being well to have a play with, this is being loaned to me by Audionote Lounge. Ive also got in the house at the moment a Michell Orca, its quite an unusual shape but does sound very nice indeed, very transparent with such a lovely texture to the instruments, a very natural sounding pre. A friend of mine has loaned it to me for a few weeks.
hifinutt
19-02-2015, 10:13
that's super . having had 3 vibes I nearly bought a michell orca a few months back
looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the m2 which I am sure will be very positive
Lee Henley
19-02-2015, 13:27
that's super . having had 3 vibes I nearly bought a michell orca a few months back
looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the m2 which I am sure will be very positive

The Orca is very very good mate, the one Ive got in the house is the one badged Trichord on the back of the power supply which is supposed to be the better one