Originally Posted by
DSJR
I take it a passive pre is out of the question? Unless you're using very long interconnects, I'm not sure these days if an active line stage is strictly necessary - and so many vintage preamps are coloured to high heaven in tone if not clarity and don't really deserve the tag 'High Fidelity' as they altered the incoming signal so very much.
Sorry, no names or pack drill, but once you've compared the raw source signal into a suitable power amp and then heard the degradation an older active preamp puts in, it kind of stays with you forever......
If an active pre is important, then have a look at a Croft 25RS two box jobbie. FAR less tonally coloured than a typical ARC, which usually adds excess warmth of 'tone' (ARC can't even get their reference range right as they change every eighteen months for commercial reasons and never actually get 'better') and it makes all cheaper Crofts sound limited and a bit scrappy in direct comparison. Keep the power supply box out of ear-shot though ;)